Risotto with buttery spring vegetables

Carbs and butter, what’s not to like?

2 cups of chopped spring vegetables such as asparagus, sugar snap peas and baby squash
1 teaspoon of fresh rosemary and thyme, chopped
2 cups of Italian arborio rice
4 cups of homemade stock
1 shallot, minced
1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan (Parmigiano-Reggiano) cheese
1 cup of white wine
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of butter
salt and fresh pepper

In a sauce pan, simmer the stock and add salt and pepper to taste (should be a tad salty since it will flavor the rice.)

In a larger pan, melt the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot and let it fry for a minute. Then, add the rice and stir while they fry for a minute. Pour the wine over the rice then stir until the wine has been absorbed by the rice.

Next, add one ladle of the stock mixture to the rice and stir until the liquid has almost completely absorbed. Cook the risotto on medium-low heat so that it is constantly boiling gently. Repeat this process until you have finished the stock mixture. Add more water if the rice is still hard until it is cooked. It should take between 15-20 minutes to cook the rice.

While the rice is cooking prepare the vegetables by sautéing for 5 minutes in butter, salt and pepper. Once cooked, add the chopped rosemary and thyme.

Once the rice is cooked, remove from heat, serve on plates and top with the buttery vegetables.

Serves 4.