I saw a chef, whose name I don’t remember, who prepared an unusual risotto, with lemon, I fell in love with it! I adore lemons, I like the yellow color that transmits joy, the heady scent and I also like the super thirst-quenching acidulous taste, not to mention the wonderful white-pink flowers that adorn the plants in spring. A spectacle of nature. The chef’s explanation fascinated me and so I tried to make it again and the result was exceptional.
Preparation time about 30 minutes plus a night of rest for the lemon
Vegetarian dish
Ingredients : 4 serving
- 320 gr carnaroli rice
- peel of two medium-large organic lemons
- water qb
- dry white wine
- extra virgin olive oil (For an excellent oil tap here)
- salt and pepper
- a knob of butter
- 1 yogurt
- Grated Parisian (5 table spoons)
- 1 bunch of green asparagus
Method
Wash the lemons well and remove the peel with a potato peeler. Cut it into thin strips and put it in salt or in cold water and let it rest overnight. In this way the bitterness of the lemons will be eliminated.
Clean the asparagus by removing the hard part of the stem and wash them thoroughly. Cut them into small pieces, taking care to leave the tips whole. In a pan, put a drizzle of oil and, when hot, add the asparagus. Let them cook over low heat for about 8/10 minutes, add salt and keep them aside.
In a fairly large pot about 10 cm high. add a generous amount of oil and when it is hot add the rice; let it toast well for 2/3 minutes then blend it with half a glass of dry white wine which we will let evaporate. Add the previously rinsed and dried lemon zest. Let’s start cooking by adding 1 ladle of water and a little coarse salt. Stir and continue cooking, adding water a little at a time after the previous dose has been absorbed. After about 10 minutes, taste and if the rice is close to cooking, add salt and a knob of butter. Let the cream continue to cook for another 1/2 minutes.
Lets make the Parmesan sauce: put the yoghurt, 4 abundant spoons of grated Parmesan and a spoonful of asparagus in a blender. Blend until you get a smooth and homogeneous cream.
Once the rice is ready, we prepare the dishes: put the lemon rice in the center of the plate, arrange the Parmesan cream on top and a spoonful of crunchy asparagus in the center. We finish with a grated lemon peel and a grind of fresh black pepper! Serve hot.
