Spring Fling with Asparagus

I have 3 favorite ways to have asparagus.

1. roasted with crushed anise seed
2. asparagus risotto
3. leftover in a breakfast omelet

Tonight I decided to combine numbers 1 and 2.

I started with fresh asparagus.



I've had this asparagus risotto recipe for years. Don't even remember where it came from, but it's written on a card in my recipe box. I've adapted it a bit over the years, like using brown basmati rice.
Start with onions, sauteed in olive oil and a bit of butter. Add brown rice and saute a bit more.
Then add chicken broth and cover to cook until done.

Meanwhile, saute cut asparagus in butter. Here's where I added the ground anise seed. I used about 1/4 tsp. of seeds, ground finely with a mortar and pestle. When rice was done, I stirred in the asparagus and topped with shredded pecorino romano cheese. Yum...a meal in itself!