Lemony Asparagus Risotto with Prawns
This lemony asparagus risotto with prawns is vibrant in colour and full of flavour! The green colour comes from pureed asparagus which you will add to the risotto in the end along with asparagus pieces. The lemony flavour is added by fresh lemon juice and lemon zest. There is also leek in this risotto which in my opinion is one of the most underestimated vegetables as it adds incredible flavour and even tastes ridiculously tasty on its own.
Let me know, if you have made this recipe. I am excited to hear about your thoughts.
Ingredients
Serves 4
300 g risotto rice
250 g prawns
250 g green asparagus
150 g frozen peas
1 leek
1 large white onion
7 garlic cloves
1 organic lemon (as you will be using the peel. too)
200 ml white wine
70 g parmesan + more for the table
50 g parsley
olive oil
butter
salt & pepper
Method
In preparation: Finely chop 1 white onion and 7 garlic cloves. Slice 1 leek lengthways, then cut into thin slices. Rinse well to get rid of any dirt. Roughly chop 50 g parsley.
Boil 1 l water and add the needed amount of vegetable stock.
Heat a large saucepan to medium heat and add 2 tbsp olive oil and a knob of butter. Fry onion, leek and half of the garlic with a good pinch of salt for about 6-8 minutes or until onion are translucent and leek has softened.
Set leek and onion aside and add 2 more tbsp olive oil to the saucepan. Add 300 g risotto rice and toast for 2-3 minutes, careful not to burn the rice.
Lower the heat and pour in 200 ml white wine. Let the wine simmer for about 2 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated and you can no longer smell the alcohol.
Add leek & onion back into the saucepan and stir in 1/3 of the hot stock. Keep stirring regularly, adding more stock as the liquid absorbs. Let the risotto simmer for 30 minutes. If you are running out of stock, add boiling water.
Whilst the risotto is cooking on low heat, wash 250 g green asparagus and remove the ends by cutting them off with a sharp knife. Now, cut the tips off (about 2cm-3cm) and set aside for later. Cut the rest of the asparagus into 1 cm long pieces.
In a small pot, bring water to a boil, add the asparagus (apart from the tips). Cook for about 5 minutes or until the asparagus is tender. Keep 250 ml of the cooking water, draining the rest. Set 1/2 of the cooked asparagus aside.
Use a hand blender to blend the other half of the cooked asparagus, parsley, 2 tbsp olive oil and the saved cooking water until you get a smooth texture.
After cooking the risotto for 30 minutes, mix in the asparagus sauce, cooked asparagus pieces as well as the uncooked asparagus tips and 150 g frozen peas. Keep the risotto on a low heat for 10 more minutes.
Slice down the back. of 250 g prawns. In a frying pan, heat a knob of butter and 2 tbsp olive oil to high heat. Add a generous amount of salt, then add remaining garlic and prawns. Fry for about 5 minutes until they are vibrant in colour and have curled up. Take the frying pan off heat and drizzle with the juice of half a lemon.
Stir 70 g grated parmesan, juice of half a lemon and salt & pepper to taste into the risotto.
Split risotto between 4 plates and garnish with prawns and fried garlic as well as some lemon peel. Serve with more parmesan on the table.
Enjoy!
