Crunchy, nutritious, delicious, decadent, wild asparagus risotto. This creamy risotto is perfect for a romantic night in, dinner for the whole family or as the star dish for your next dinner party. If you love risotto, keep this chorizo and mushroom risotto recipe on hand as well.
Wild Asparagus Risotto Ingredients
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- 1/2 cup of arborio rice
- 1 onion (finely chopped)
- 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
- 1/2 cup of white wine
- 4 cups of hot vegetable stock
- 1 cup of grated Parmesan
- 1 medium bunch of wild asparagus (or regular asparagus if you can’t find the wild variety)
- Olive oil
- Salt & black pepper to taste
Our favorite place to buy fruits and vegetables is the Marché d’Aligre market in the 12th arrondissement of Paris. We have been going there for years ever since Hugo first invited me for morning oysters and wine at the Baron Rouge over 5 years ago. We often go there on Sunday mornings, do our shopping and then stop for a morning snack at the Baron Rouge. A few weeks ago we went with out friend Chelsea, from the blog A Parisian Journey, and she snapped this quick shot of us checking out the local wild asparagus.
Thank you Chelsea Wilson for this photo of us in the Marché d’Aligre.
Tips to make this asparagus risotto
- Don’t overcook the asparagus. You will need to be especially careful if you are cooking wild asparagus as they are very thin and cook quickly.
- Don’t skimp on parmesan quality here, friends. The better quality parmesan you use, the better the final dish will taste.
How to cook wild asparagus
This risotto recipe calls for steamed asparagus. Steaming asparagus is the best way to retain its crunchiness and all of the vitamins in asparagus that you may otherwise lose if you boil or stir fry the asparagus.
For perfectly steamed asparagus every time, just pour a 1/2 cup of water into a large pot and bring to boil. Add the washed asparagus, cover the pot, and steam for 4 minutes.
How to Make Wild Asparagus Risotto
- Step 1 – Heat olive oil in a casserole on high heat.
- Step 2 – Add onion and salt and cook for 2 minutes
- Step 3 – When the onion becomes translucent, add the rice. Turn the heat down to low.
- Step 4 – Add the garlic and cook until the rice starts to change color.
- Step 5 – Turn the heat to high heat and pour in the wine.
- Step 6 – Leave to cook until the rice absorbs all of the wine.
- Step 7 – Add a ladle of hot vegetable stock and stir until the stock is absorbed by the rice. Repeat until the rice becomes as soft as you like. (We prefer our risotto al dente.)
- Step 8 – Add the Parmesan and turn the heat off. Stir and cover.
- Step 9 – Use a large pot and add a 1/2 cup of water. Cover and bring to a boil.
- Step 10 – Add the asparagus, cover, and steam for 4 minutes.
- Step 11 – Top the risotto with the steamed asparagus on top.
Add your own twist to this wild asparagus risotto recipe
- Make mushroom asparagus risotto by tossing in some champignons de Paris
- If you love lemons like we do, make lemon asparagus risotto
- We used brown rice for this recipe but you could absolutely use white rice instead
- If you’re feeling brave, you could hunt and forage for your own wild asparagus (how to video below!)
- If you don’t have access to wild asparagus at the moment, you can replace them with any regular asparagus you have on hand
- Leave out the asparagus and add chorizo and mushrooms to make our chorizo and mushroom risotto
How to hunt and forage for wild asparagus in nature
We bought our wild asparagus at out local market, the Marché d’Aligre but you if you live near a location where you can find them in the wild, you can absolutely go out hunting for them as well.