Lemon Butter Asparagus Risotto

Made with Arborio rice, asparagus, parmesan and fresh herbs, this Lemon Butter Asparagus Risotto recipe is a simple dish with a rich and creamy texture and fresh and fragrant flavour!

Risotto is the perfect way to pair humble pantry staples together to create a decadent meal without much effort; by simply combining rice, broth and vegetables of your choice you can easily create a hearty meal that works equally well as a main course or a side dish. Although it’s often thought of as a fancy restaurant dish, risotto actually has very humble beginnings and all you need is a bit of time and elbow grease to create a delicious risotto. Plus, once you’ve got the basic risotto recipe down you can easily add any vegetables, herbs and spices that you like to create different flavours of risotto. This particular asparagus risotto recipe is made with fresh asparagus and fresh herbs, however, you could certainly use frozen or dried if you prefer, because the addition of the lemon butter helps to bring everything together and add a little punch spring of flavour.

Lemon Butter Asparagus Risotto

This lemon butter asparagus risotto recipe is rich, creamy and easy to make! This recipe is made with Arborio rice, asparagus, parmesan and fresh herbs and stores well in the fridge or freezer for days to come.

Author: Stephanie Kay
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 4 servings 1x
Category: Mains
Cuisine: Vegetarian, Gluten-Free
Diet: Vegetarian

Scale

Ingredients

6 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth, plus more as needed
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
2 shallots or 1 small onion, finely minced
2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice or short-grain rice
1/2 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into ½” pieces
1 tablespoon lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh mixed herbs, parsley, basil, mint, etc, roughly chopped
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
Sea salt
Black pepper

Instructions

In a saucepan, warm the broth until steaming.
In a separate large pot or pan on medium-high heat, warm olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter.
Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds until fragrant.
Add rice and cook, stirring frequently, until the edges are translucent, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Add ½ cup of warm broth and cook, stirring frequently, until almost all of the broth has absorbed. Continue adding ½ cup of broth in this manner until rice is tender and creamy, about 20 to 25 minutes in total.
With the last batch of broth, add chopped asparagus and allow to cook until tender, 3-4 minutes, or until it is bright green in colour.
Once cooked, remove from the risotto from the heat and stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, herbs, cheese, and remaining 2 tablespoons butter.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately with additional cheese, lemon zest and herbs.