Oven Baked Garlic Parmesan Risotto with Asparagus

Baked Garlic Parmesan Risotto with Asparagus Cook's Notes: Risotto is unbelievably creamy, velvety, buttery, savory, salty and pure addicting – just try to stop at one spoonful! It's a northern Italian rice dish slow cooked in a broth until a delectable creamy consistency. Never fails to impress and a perfect spring side dish, The oven version is 100% foolproof and doesn’t require constant stirring. Do not rinse Arborio as it's important to retain the starch for the dish. One cup frozen petite peas thawed could be substituted for asparagus pieces. The recipe could serve 6 but since its so addicting maybe just four. Recipe adapted from carlsbadcravings.com and it's gluten free! Ingredients 1 Tablespoon olive oil 2 Tablespoons butter, divided 1/4 cup shallots finely chopped 3-4 cloves garlic, minced 1- 1/2 cups uncooked Arborio rice 4 cups low sodium chicken broth, warmed 1/2 bunch of asparagus, remove woody ends and cut asparagus into 1-1/2 inch pieces 1-1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1 teaspoon each dried basil and parsley flakes 3 Tablespoons dry white wine 1/4 cup heavy cream Optional adding in 1 cup diced ham or bacon Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven. Increase heat to medium high and saute shallots 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir until well coated with butter and edges begin to look translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and sauté an additional 30 seconds. Add 4 cups warm chicken broth and seasonings to rice mixture. Bring to a boil, cover with a tight fitting lid and transfer to oven. Bake for 16 minutes or until rice is the softer side of al dente. Blanch asparagus pieces for 1 minute, drain to an ice bath and drain again. When rice is tender, remove from oven and stir in remaining 1/4 cup heavy cream, 1 Tablespoon butter 3 TB dry white wine, blanched asparagus pieces and 1 cup Parmesan Cheese. Stir vigorously until smooth. Place back in oven uncovered and cook 5 minutes more. Add more Parmesan cheese right before serving. Season with salt and pepper if necessary. To reheat use a little more chicken broth. RISOTTO VARIATIONS Fennel and lemon risotto Garlic, sage mushroom risotto Tomatoes and basil risotto Bacon and cheddar risotto Spinach and pea risotto Peas and mint risotto Swiss chard and shrimp risotto Gorgonzola and radicchio risotto Asparagus, spinach and lemon risotto Olives and feta risotto (like my Greek risotto) Sun-dried tomato, spinach and feta risotto Vegetable risotto with zucchini, bell peppers, peas and spinach Scallops with arugula risotto Chicken, lemon, parsley risotto Shrimp, lemon, herb risotto Lobster risotto Ground beef, turkey or sausage risotto