Creamy rice with green asparagus, peas, and herbed mascarpone with lemon

Instructions

1. 1

   1. Wash the green asparagus, trim off the woody ends, and cut into 1.2-inch pieces. Finely chop the shallot, garlic, fresh parsley, and fresh chives. Zest the lemon and squeeze 2 tablespoons of juice.

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   2. Heat the vegetable stock in a saucepan and keep it hot over very low heat throughout the rice cooking process.

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   3. In a wide skillet or shallow pot, heat 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and 10 g butter over medium heat. Add the green asparagus with a pinch of salt and sauté for 3-4 minutes until tender but still bright green. Add the peas and cook 1 more minute. Transfer both to a plate.

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   4. In the same pan, add the remaining tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and cook the shallot over medium heat for 3 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds more.

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   5. Add the short-grain rice and toast it for 1-2 minutes, stirring, until the grains are well coated and slightly translucent around the edges.

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   6. Pour in the white wine and cook, stirring, until the liquid is almost fully reduced, about 2 minutes.

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   7. Add one ladle of hot vegetable stock and stir. Continue adding the stock little by little, stirring often and waiting until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid before adding more. Cook this way for 16-18 minutes.

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   8. While the rice cooks, mix the mascarpone with the lemon zest, lemon juice, fresh parsley, fresh chives, a pinch of black pepper, and a pinch of salt in a bowl.

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   9. When the rice is almost done, fold in the reserved green asparagus and peas. Add the remaining butter and the grated Parmesan cheese as well. Mix thoroughly for shine and creaminess.

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    10. Remove the pan from the heat and fold in the herbed mascarpone mixture. Adjust with the remaining salt and black pepper. Let rest for 2 minutes so the rice becomes perfectly creamy.

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    11. Serve immediately, with a little extra grated Parmesan cheese if desired. If you want to warm the plates before serving, heat them for 5 minutes in an oven preheated to 80 °C / 175 °F.