Roasted Asparagus Risotto

I came up with the idea for this little beauty the other day when I was in the grocery store.  I love asparagus but have gotten a little sick of doing them on the grill like we always do.  So, since you can basically make risotto with anything in it, I decided to roast the asparagus and then add them to risotto.  Oh my goodness - YUM!

Roasted Asparagus Risotto

3/4 cup arborio rice
1 yellow onion, chopped fine
2 large cloves of garlic, chopped fine
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup dry white wine
1 bundle fresh asparagus
2 Tbsp olive oil
Approx. 4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup pecorino romano cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the hard ends off of the asparagus and then give them a rough chop (I cut mine into thirds).  Cover a baking sheet with alumnimum foil and spread the asparagus out onto the baking tray.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and olive olive oil and roast at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes to get them nice and crunchy! 

Meanwhile, cook the risotto:

Add 1 Tbsp of butter, onion and garlic to a large sautee pan and cook until transluscent.  Season with a little salt and pepper.  Add rice and toast it for a minute or two (careful not to let it burn!). 

Add 1 cup of white wine and stir rice gently until all of the wine is absorbed.  Slowly add the chicken broth (about 1 cup at a time) until the rice has absorbed all of it.

You may need more or less than 4 cups but that is an approximate guess.  When the rice has absorbed the liquid, add last Tbsp of butter, roasted asparagus and romano cheese. 

We had ours with some grilled pork chops last night.