Mushroom and White Bean broth with Polenta and Asparagus

Ok this is not the most photogenic dish, but also this was a picture of the leftovers because the original was devoured too quickly for pictures. (and it was late in the evening when the lighting was bad)

It does seem like a whole menu here, but I assure you the combination of these flavors goes so well together that it makes sense to list it as one recipe. Asparagus and mushrooms both just went in season recently, so it makes sense to try to pair them.

Polenta is a good thing to know how to make because it goes with so many other delicious things. If you can find the instant variety, it takes about 5 minutes to make, including the time to boil the water.

Polenta

3 cups vegetable broth

3/4 cup instant polenta

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1. Bring broth to a boil.

2. Stir in polenta and continue stirring for about 3 minutes until the mixture gets thick and bubbly.

3. Stir in the parmesan.

4. Serve immediately (or else it hardens and will not look as pretty, but will taste just as good!

Mushroom and White beans in broth

1 1/2 cups mushroom stock

3 cups chopped fresh mushrooms, such as crimini or portabello (the smaller ones), chopped roughly if they are too big, but if they're bite size you can leave them whole

2 tbs olive oil

1 bunch scallions (greens included) minced

2 cloves garlic

1 1/2 cups canned white beans drained

500 grams asparagus

1. Saute the mushrooms until golden brown in color.

2. Add garlic and scallions and cook for another minute.

3. Add the stock and beans and simmer until mushrooms and beans are well heated and soft.

Serve with steamed asparagus and polenta. Just pour the mushroom mixture over both and garnish with grated parmesan.

Asparagus & Mushroom Risotto

Happy Mother's Day!

I would have loved to make this recipe for my mom, who will be visiting me later this summer. This was the best risotto I ever made. I was a little disappointed, though, that the package of Carnaroli rice said that the cooking time took only 14 minutes. I used to use Arborio but saw this as a new and interesting option for risotto. I thought, 'hey, now I can make myself risotto in a jiff, whenever I want!' but of course I was wrong. I suppose the lesson was, the best things in life take time and patience.

Overall the cooking time was about 45 minutes. I was starving when it was finished and I didn't have any more time or energy to go on a run like I planned. There's always tomorrow!

4+ cups water

1 vegetable boullion cube

6 stalks fresh asparagus, cut thinly on the diagonal

1 small can of sliced mushrooms, about 125 grams

1 onion, diced

2 gloves garlic, crushed

1 cup risotto rice, such as Carnaroli or Arborio

2 tbs olive oil

2 tbs butter

1/2 cup dry white wine

grated parmesan

salt and pepper to taste

1. Blanch the asparagus slices in the vegetable broth. Since they are already cut thinly, they won't take long to make al dente. Maybe 5 minutes maximum.

2. Drain the asparagus and set aside. Reserve the broth.

3. In a large sauce pan or pot, heat oil and butter. Add garlic and onion and stir until translucent on medium heat.

4. Add mushrooms and stir for a few more minutes.

5. Add the rice and coat with the butter and oil, stir for 1 minute.

6. Add the white wine and stir until absorbed.

7. From the reserved brother, stir about 1/3 a cup at a time. Waiting between each interval until all the liquid is absorbed, stirring constantly.

8. More water may be needed, check the consistency of the rice after you have added all cups of broth and continue adding HOT water if more cooking is needed.

9. Stir in a few tbs grated parmesan, or to taste, and stir the asparagus in last. (This preserves the look and taste of the asparagus and doesn't over cook it).

10. Garnish with more grated parmesan and serve hot.

This, like most risotto recipes, is not as good leftover. It will thicken quite a bit more in the refridgerator. I suggest this as a good recipe to make to impress guests, because though easy, it is time consuming. This recipe serves only about 2.5 (1.5 for dinner last night and 1 for lunch today). And so it can be doubled or tripled quite easily.

Asparagus & Zucchini Crudi

For being so simple, this is one of the best, freshest things I've eaten in a while. I was inspired to make this because asparagus is finally in season (thus affordable) and from some recent discussions I've been having with my friend F about raw food diets. Ok so this isn't technically all raw, of course with a little parmesan and olive oil, but it ups the flavor immensely and is at least a way to get into raw foods gradually. This is something I've meant to get into a bit more, in fact, though I admit I probably wouldn't last long with this, as I love to bake and don't even have a food processor.

Though I was skeptical about raw asparagus, the original recipe is from one of my favorite TV-star chefs, Giada de Laurentiis. I love her show because she's always doing something fresh, simple and healthy.

1 zucchini, washed and cut into strips with a vegetable peeler

4-6 stalks of fresh asparagus, cut thinly on the diagonal
shaved parmesan for garnish
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Toss these ingredients together and serve immediately. Some reviews from Giada's page said that if you let it sit too long the zucchini gets a bit soggy. Since this is a scaled down recipe, it only serves about 2 as a side (or 1 for my lunch ;-)