Patio Dining Furniture

I use my patio dining furniture for festive occasions. I like to entertain my family on Easter with an Italian Easter Menu. The first dish that I serve on Easter is Risotto with asparagus. This is a very delicate risotto that I make when asparagus is in season. This dish will serve four people and takes forty minutes to prepare. The ingredients in this dish are rice, white onion, fresh green asparagus, extra virgin olive oil, freshly grated parmesan cheese, unsalted butter and six to seven cups of vegetable stock.

Risotto should be creamy, not too dry and certainly not soupy. It may take a little practice to get it right, but once you do it is well worth the effort. To make this risotto, you wash and trim off the tough ends off of the asparagus, leaving the tips and the most tender part of the stalk. Put the stalks in a pan of water leaving the tips out. When the water starts to boil add some kosher salt. You will need to cook the asparagus until it is tender.

You will only need to cook the tips for the last few minutes since they are more tender and cook very quickly. Remove the asparagus tips and chop the stalks into small pieces and then cook them for a few minutes in some of the butter. The tips will need to cook apart in one tablespoon of butter. Be sure not to brown the tips.

Put the asparagus stalks through a vegetable ricer and then blend them in a food processor to make a smooth sauce. In the meantime heat up a pan with butter and olive oil and add the chopped onions. Cook the onions until they are soft and translucent. If the onions get too dry, add few spoons of water or broth. When the onions are ready, add the rice and combine it well with the onions and butter. Toast the rice and onions for about three minutes at high heat.

After the rice has toasted, add the asparagus sauce and a cup of stock to the rice and mix it in well. Once the rice has absorbed the sauce add about two more cups of hot stock and reduce the heat to medium. Mix the rice frequently. Continue to add stock a bit at a time until the rice is nearly cooked. This will take practice since every rice cooks differently. When the rice is a few minutes from finished add the asparagus tips and mix well.

After a minute or so add two tablespoons of butter and the Parmesan cheese. Remove the rice from the stove, cover the pan with the lid and let it stand for few minutes. Be sure to check the rice to be sure that it is salty enough as you go. It is better to add salt, if necessary, while it is cooking rather than when it is already being served on the patio dining furniture. I like to serve this first dish with Chardonnay.