It’s almost May and I’m still wearing my winter coat. Mother Nature can’t fool me. Spring’s coming. The days are longer, the sun is warmer and my darling Meggie is showing!

What a spectacular weekend of cuddles, loads of yummy food and long talks. Four perfect days with my girls enjoying small simple things. Watching Kate and Sara fuss over Meg. Constantly touching and whispering to Meg’s swollen belly. Getting hocked on Game of Thrones. Being able to touch my daughters rather than just look at them on a computer screen was the best. When they were little girls, I always held there hands when we walked. When they became teenagers, they stopped. Now that they’re adults, they reach for my hand again.

Funny how it goes.

The promise of Spring has me thinking of lighter dishes full of fresh sprouts and lovely seafood. Asparagus and Jumbo Shrimp are a natural combination for risotto. What lifts this recipe is NOT cooking the main ingredients with the arborio rice. Roasting the asparagus deepens it’s flavour rather than leaching it by adding it to the cooking broth. The same goes for the shrimp. Pan frying the shrimp and then hitting them with a bit of garlic and chilies totally trumps poaching them with the rice.

Keep the faith! Spring is on it’s way…

Asparagus and Jumbo Shrimp Risotto
serves 2-3
Preheat oven 375*F

1 cup Arborio rice
1 leek, sliced and cleaned
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
12 jumbo shrimp, peeled 8-12 count
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 dried red chili, crushed
4 cups chicken broth, preferably homemade but commercial will still be good!…bring to just before the boil and keep warm.
1/2 cup Reggiano Parmigiano, freshly grated

THE STEPS:

• Place trimmed asparagus in shallow roasting dish and drizzle with a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive olive.
• Season the asparagus with sea salt and freshly ground pepper and place in oven
• Roast asparagus for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a deep skillet, melt butter in 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat.

• When butter is frothing add leeks…sauté for 5 minutes, browning slightly, stirring constantly.
• Add Arborio rice and stir until well coated with butter/oil mixture. Heating the rice ensures quick absorption of the broth.
• Add hot broth 1/4 cup at a time…stirring gently until broth is incorporated.
• Continue until rice is almost al dente…

• As you are cooking your risotto, sauté the shrimp in a little olive oil…season with minced garlic, crushed chili, sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• When risotto is al dente stir in the grated cheese.
• Plate risotto and top with asparagus and shrimp.

THE LOVE: Risotto should have a loose consistency. It should NOT look like a plate of porridge.

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one year ago: caprese salad

two years ago: spaghetti with grape tomatoes and Spring chives

three years ago: chocolate merigues

Thanks for reading.

Read the original on: bitebymichelle