Ingredients:
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 2 shallots, diced
- 2 cups arborio, carnaroli, or vialone nano rice
- 8 cups vegetable or chicken stock
- 1 bundle asparagus (remove woody or tough ends, and roughly chop tender stems/tips)
- 4 oz. light cream cheese
- 11 oz. Honey Smoked Salmon
- Juice and zest of one lemon
- 2 Tbsp fresh chives, chopped
- Salt & pepper, to taste
Directions:
Step 1
Warm stock and bring to a low simmer.
Step 2
Melt butter in a saucepan, and then sauté diced shallots until soft – about 4 minutes.
Step 3
Add rice to saucepan with shallots, and stir until every grain is coated with butter. Add more butter if needed. Cook until rice begins to look transparent around the edges but remains opaque at the center. Be sure that the rice doesn’t brown.
Step 4
Incrementally add stock in ½ cups, only adding more when the previous ½ cup has been absorbed. Continue to add stock and cook until rice is al dente – not too soft, not too firm (about 20-30 minutes of cooking).
Step 5
Add cream cheese and stir in until melted. Add asparagus and cook until tender and bright green (about 2-3 minutes). Stir in salmon, lemon zest and juice, and about ¾ of the chives.
Step 6
Season with salt and pepper to taste, and garnish with extra chives.