I say this with a very heavy sigh, the cold weather is here.  :((((. Just a few days ago I was enjoying beautiful, warm, beach weather and then came home to 40 degrees. Oh well, that’s what happens when you live in the northeast of USA.

To keep warm, I like to prepare hearty meals that are still healthy and good for you. This one pot meal is very easy to prepare and can feed 4 people very comfortably. You get a vibrant and colorful plate of vegetables, seafood and rice all in one. Not bad. Plus, you get to cook with wine, now that’s a plus!!

Arborio rice is an Italian short grain rice that is named after the town of Arborio, in the Po Valley, where it is grown. Once prepared, it’s a very creamy and hearty rice that can have an abundance of various ingredients added to it to create beautiful varieties of meals.

Tonight, I decided to add many spring like colors to my meal, because, let’s face it, we all first eat with our eyes. It has to always look good, then smell good and taste good-in that order.

When I went food shopping today, I saw this beautiful bunch of asparagus that I had to bring home with me. So I thought, why not add it to the risotto for beautiful color and good for you nutrients. Asparagus is a very good source of fiber, folate, vitamins A, C, E and K, as well as chromium, a trace mineral that enhances the ability of insulin to transport glucose from the bloodstream into cells. Asparagus also helps break down carcinogens and other harmful compounds like free radicals. This is why eating asparagus may help fight certain cancers such as bone, colon and lung cancers. Besides all of this, it tastes delicious!

If you try this recipe, please let me know your thoughts, and as always, Enjoy!

Shrimp, Asparagus and Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients: Serves 4- 6

• 3 cups chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 shallot, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup asparagus, cut diagonally into ½  inch slices
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
• ½ cup dry white wine (pinot grigio or chardonnay)
• ½ pound cleaned and deveined extra large shrimp
• ½ cup grated or shaved parmesan cheese

Preparation:

In a separate pot heat the chicken stock over a medium low and keep warm over a low flame.

In the meantime, prepare all of your ingredients as per recipe ingredients. This recipe requires pretty constant stirring so nothing sticks and cooks evenly. That is why it is important to have everything ready.

In a large heavy stockpot, melt the butter into the olive oil over a medium/low heat. Add the onion and shallot and sauté for about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to sauté for one more minute. Add the cut asparagus and sauté for another 3 minutes. Add the salt and Arborio rice. Saute for another 3 minutes, mixing through constantly.

Set your timer to 5 minutes. Using a soup ladle, you will be gradually adding 1 ladle or ¼ cup of the broth at a time into the rice, making sure to mix through very well so no rice sticks to the bottom.  As soon as most of the liquid is evaporated, add another ladle of broth. Continue this until timer goes off.

Now add in the mushrooms, still continuing with the broth process. Set the timer to 7 minutes. You will keep stirring so nothing sticks to the bottom and that the broth is incorporating with the rice and vegetables. Once timer goes off, add in the white wine and shrimp. Continue stirring and adding the liquid as before. Try to stir the shrimps into the bottom so they cook from the heat of the rice. Cook an additional 3-5 minutes, or until all of the liquid is gone and the sauce is thickened with the shrimp turning pink for doneness.

Add the parmesan cheese and stir throughout until melted.