Week 46: Green Risotto

How about one more recipe cooked with/for others to finish the week?

You know how much I love my risotto. I made this for Em and Justin - without a recipe. That's right. I've officially made risotto enough times to not need someone else's recipe. I just went to the grocery store and the farmers' market to collect things that looked yummy and whipped this up.

Makes 6 servings
Prep and Cook time: about 45 minutes

6 C vegetable broth
1 lb asparagus, chopped after removing rough ends
4 Tbsp butter
3 zucchinis, quartered lengthwise and sliced
1 red onion, chopped
1 pound mushrooms, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 C arborio rice
2 C white wine
1 1/2 C frozen green peas, thawed
1 C chopped smoked mozzarella

Bring vegetable broth to a simmer in a small sauce pan. Add chopped asparagus. Cook asparagus in broth for several minutes or until cooked to desired tenderness.  Remove asparagus from broth and set aside. Allow broth to continue simmering.

Meanwhile, melt 2 Tbsp of butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add zucchini. Cook 5 - 7 minutes or until cooked to desired tenderness. Removed zucchini from pan and set aside.

Melt 2 remaining tablespoons of butter in the same pan. Add onion. Cook for 5 - 7 minutes. Add mushrooms, and continue cooking until mushrooms are tender. Add garlic. Cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.

Add rice. Cook for about two minutes or until slightly translucent, stirring often. Add wine. Cook, stirring often until wine has evaporated or been absorbed.

Add one ladle of broth. Continue cooking over medium-low to medium heat until broth has been absorbed. Stir often. Continue adding broth, one ladle at a time, until rice reaches creamy, smooth consistency. Rice should be soft with a slight crunch to it. The process of adding the broth should take about 25 - 30 minutes. Adjust heat accordingly.

When rice has reached desired consistency, stir in zucchini, asparagus, and thawed peas. Add smoked mozzarella to individual portions.

My notes:
It was tough to cook risotto on someone else's stove. I wasn't used to the heat. It took lots of extra liquid, stirring, and cooking time to get the finished product to the right consistency.


The smoked mozzarella was from Zingerman's. They make their own mozzarella. Anything that is left at the end of the day is smoked. Really, really tasty. The totally delicious bread we had with the risotto was also from Zingerman's.