asparagus and mozzarella risotto with gooey poached egg.

with asparagus coming into full season in the next month or so, i've noticed an abundance of this lovely vegetable hitting vegetable markets and supermarket shelves alike. one of my favourite vegetables (though i'm still not sure what the plural is) i thought it was about time i put up my asparagus and mozzerella risotto recipe. complete with a gooey poached egg.

shopping list

makes two
♥ 120g risotto rice
♥ one white onion
♥ three cloves of garlic
♥ around 10 asparagus spears
♥ 200ml vegetable stock
♥ one mozzerella ball
♥ two eggs
♥ a hard cheese such as parmesan, grana padana or pecorino
♥ salt and pepper to season

begin by chopping up your onion and garlic. boil the kettle and have your vegetable stock at the ready. soften the onion and garlic in a large saucepan on a low heat with a little butter or oil.

keep stirring for ten minutes until very soft, not letting the onions or garlic burn.

next, add the risotto rice, stir around the pan and allow to toast for a couple of minutes. then add in a dash of the vegetable stock. keep the stock nearby to add to the risotto now and again :)

add the stock as and when the rice absorbs it. continue this for around 15 minutes.

a great way to make your risotto really creamy is to add cheese now and again too.

chop the asparagus to around 1-2 inches long, keeping the ends intact for presentation.

after five minutes the spears should be cooked. roughly chop the mozzerella and add scatter around the pan.

by now your risotto should have soaked up lots of the stock and have grown in size. if you'd like a poached egg on top, have it on a low heat whilst you make the next part.

boil a saucepan of salted water ready whilst you prepare the eggs. to make circular poached eggs and not waste the white in the water, i like to crack eggs into olive oil coated clingfilm and make little parcels.