I love risotto, however, I typically buy it in those already made just add water or microwave pouches. So I decided to go ahead and try to make it on my own — thus creating this lemon garlic shrimp and asparagus risotto.

The main reason I decided to try this was because I wanted to do something different to go with my shrimp and this just sounded like a good pairing. Now I found two recipes that I liked for the risotto so instead of picking I just kind of mixed them together, taking some out and adding in some from each and hoping for the best.

It turned out pretty good and I was pretty proud of myself though I did accidentally burn a bit of the risotto because I wasn’t paying attention while working on the shrimp and the broth had absorbed and I didn’t add more in time. But I’ll try again next time.

I do want to try and make a different kind of risotto just to try out, maybe a mushroom one to go with some chicken could be a fun idea but we’ll have to see. This one caused my kitchen to be even more of a disaster than normal, so I might try to figure out how to make it less of a mess the next time.

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Ingredients …

2 cups of shrimp

1/2 pound of asparagus, chopped finely

1 cup of Arborio rice

1 shallot, finely cut

3 cups of vegetable broth

1/2/ cup of dry white wine

1 cup of parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons of lemon juice

2 tablespoons of garlic

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tablespoon of butter

Salt and pepper to taste

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Directions …

Bring broth to a boil in a medium sauce pan then add asparagus for about three minutes. Remove asparagus and keep the broth on a low simmer.

In another medium saucepan add shallot and 1 tablespoon of olive oil, cooking until translucent. Add 1 tablespoon of garlic and saute for another 30 seconds to a minute then add the rice. Stir rice mixture for 4-5 minutes until it begins to turn translucent and is starting to turn a light golden brown. Add wine until almost absorbed and the 1/2 cup of broth stirring until the broth is also absorbed.

Continue adding a ladle of broth until it’s absorbed. After about 16 to 20 minutes the rice should be al dente and creamy.

While the risotto is cooking add olive oil to a pan over medium-low heat. Add shrimp, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of garlic along with salt and pepper. Cook until pink.

Once risotto is al dente add in the cooked asparagus and one more ladle of broth. Once absorbed remove from heat and add butter, cheese and lemon juice.

Add risotto to a plate and top with shrimp. Add more lemon juice or parmesan cheese if desired.

Katelin Gandee can be reached at [email protected].