Not Quite Billy's risotto

Billy makes fantastic risotto. I've modified it a bit to my own taste, but this is basically his recipe. I made it last night and have been eating left-overs today. Love it. This is a half recipe that easily feeds 3-4, if you ask me, but you can absolutely double it.

First, ideally you'd get out your risotto pan, but if you don't have one or a good saucier, you can make this in a big high sided skillet. 

You'll need:

Arborio rice (1 C.)

1-2 medium boxes chicken broth, or vegetable or seafood stock. (I use chicken and I always    make sure I have 2 boxes, just in case)

butter (about 1/4 stick)

shrimp (1/2 lb or so)

bunch asparagus

1 large pack baby bella mushrooms

head of garlic

1/2 medium red onion or small red onion

extra virgin olive oil

To Prep:

1. Wash & trim the woody ends off of the asparagus. Then steam or boil until just barely done. Shock in a big bowl of ice water to stop cooking. Lately, in the name of laziness, I've taken to using the zip and steam bags. I steam the asparagus about 2 minutes or so. I think that works just fine. Then I shock them in cold water, drain, and set aside. 

2. Sautee raw, shelled, large/jumbo shrimp in butter and about 5 cloves of garlic until just done. Set aside. OR, thaw cooked frozen shrimp and remove the tails. Set aside. If you choose to do it this way (and to save on dirtying pans, I have lately), you'll want to add more garlic  to Cooking #1 and throw in a hunk of butter (1/5-1/4 stick?) with the first cup of broth.

3. Chop 1/2 medium red onion (or a rather small one)

4. Crush and chop (another) 8 cloves of garlic.

5. Quarter pack of baby bella mushrooms (you can use white, if you'd rather)

6. When asparagus has cooled, chop into bit sized pieces.

Cooking:

1. Sautee the chopped red onion in EVOO for a few minutes. Then add the quartered mushrooms and garlic. (If you're using pre-cooked shrimp -- not sauteed -- then add the extra 5 crushed and chopped cloves of garlic as well. Keep in mind, too, that I LOVE garlic, so you can probably do with just the original 8 cloves if that's more your speed.) Sautee until they look close to done (7-10 minutes), stirring often. 

2. Move the mushrooms, garlic, and onions to the sides of the pan. Add another Tbsp or so of EVOO and 1 C. Arborio rice. Cook rice, stirring often, for about 5 minutes or until well-coated.

3. Add 1 C. broth.

4. Cook, stirring constantly, until the broth is completely absorbed.

5. Continue adding broth about 1/2 C. at a time, allowing each addition to be absorbed before adding the next. Don't let the rice cook "dry," though. This whole process will take a good half an hour or so and you'll use between 4-6 C of broth.

6. When you've got about one C. of broth left to add, add the shrimp. If you've sauteed the shrimp in butter and garlic, add the shrimp and most of the garlic butter mixture.

7. When it's almost done, add the asparagus.

8. Risotto is done when rice is tender but firm to the bite and risotto is creamy in texture.

9. Remove from heat and serve immediately with freshly shredded Parmesan shavings, if desired.