This asparagus and kale risotto recipe is a great way to eat the seasons! Stop by your local farmers market to get your produce, grab a good bottle of white wine (it’s for the recipe!), and get ready for an absolutely divine meal.
Risotto is such a special dish for me. When I was growing up, my mom would make risotto when she had really great veggies from the market, and it was always so delicious. She taught me that, like anything worth having in life, making risotto takes patience. I’ll dive into the process below, but the general idea is that you slowly cook your arborio rice by pouring your liquid into your pan in small batches until it is fully absorbed, and then you repeat several times. There is also a lot of stirring involved.
You will often see risottos offered on fancier restaurant menus that showcase that season’s produce. Well my friends, I’m here to tell you that you too can make this fancy dish to wow your family and friends!
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Why You’ll Love This Vegetable Risotto Recipe
Creamy and Luxurious. The slow stirring process creates that signature thick, creamy texture that makes risotto feel like restaurant-quality comfort food.
Bright and Fresh Flavors. Lemon zest and juice combined with fresh kale and asparagus create a light, vibrant dish that’s wonderful as a summer side or vegetarian main dish.
Satisfying but Not Heavy. This dish is filling and rich without being overly heavy, making it perfect for warmer weather meals.
Impressive Yet Doable. While it requires attention and stirring for about 40 minutes, the technique is straightforward and creates an elegant dish that wows guests.
Vegetable Risotto Recipe Ingredients
Salted Butter and Extra Virgin Olive Oil create the rich, flavorful base for sautéing the vegetables and coating the rice. Together they add depth of flavor and richness to our risotto.
Green Onion, Kale, and Asparagus. Fresh summer vegetables provide color, nutrition, and bright flavors that make this risotto feel light and seasonal.
Arborio Rice is the key ingredient that creates risotto’s signature creamy texture.
White Wine adds acidity, depth of flavor, and brightness to our dish as well as helps to deglaze the pan after sautéing the rice.
Broth of Choice. Broth provides the liquid required to slowly cook the rice and creates the creamy base, while adding savory flavor throughout. We recommend vegetable broth, chicken broth, or chicken bone broth for this dish, depending on what your dietary needs and preferences are.
Lemon Zest and Juice. Bring bright, fresh citrus flavor that cuts through the richness and makes the whole dish taste vibrant and summery.
Grated Parmesan. Adds nutty, salty flavor and extra creaminess to make this risotto rich and satisfying.
Salt and Pepper. Added to taste if desired to enhance all the other flavors and allow you to adjust the seasoning to your taste preferences.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to Make Summer Vegetable Risotto
Blanch asparagus: In a medium sauce pan filled half-full with water, bring water to a boil. Place cut up asparagus into boiling water for 2-3 minutes until a fork can just puncture a piece. Pour into a colander to drain and immediately rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Set aside. *Note: if you are good at multi-tasking, you can do this while you stir your rice – do what works best for you!
Sauté green onion and kale: In a large skillet, sauté butter, olive oil, green onion, and kale until kale is slightly softened and bright green (~3-4mins)
Toast the rice: Add the dry rice to your pan and sauté until coated and slightly translucent (~2mins)
Add the wine: Add wine and stir until absorbed
Gradually add the broth: Add broth ~¾-1 cup at a time (to just cover rice). Stir until all liquid is absorbed. Continue to add broth in ~¾ cup increments until all broth is used and the rice is cooked (~20-25 minutes). Risotto is done when it is al dente (cooked firm to the bite). If you’d prefer a softer rice, add an additional ½ – 1 cup of broth.
Add in the lemon zest and lemon juice: With the last round of broth, add in the lemon zest and 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice.
Stir in parmesan and cooked asparagus: Stir in the parmesan and asparagus. Taste and add additional lemon juice, salt and pepper if desired.
Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Variation Ideas
Use different summer veggies. If you like to eat seasonally but aren’t able to find fresh green onions, kale or asparagus (or want to add a wider variety of veggies to this dish) you still have a ton of great options! Try fresh green peas (out of the shell), baby spinach (stems removed, ribboned, and stirred in with the last round of broth), and/or shallots (finely chopped, sautéed with the butter and olive oil before toasting your rice).
Storage
Although risotto is best served immediately, you can store fully-cooled leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for 1-2 days.
Expert Tips for Vegetable Risotto
Don’t rush it. Seriously, don’t do it! Adding your liquid in small increments and continuously stirring is an integral part of making the perfect risotto. This allows your rice to cook slowly which in turn will help to create that creamy risotto you are hoping to achieve. Another risk of trying to rush the cooking process is undercooked, crunchy rice. Not worth it.
Pro tip: don’t forget to chill your bottle of wine before you cook! That way you can have a little something to sip on while you make your risotto. You need ½ cup of white wine for this (and most) risotto recipe. Chilling your bottle of wine ahead of time allows you to pour yourself a glass to enjoy while you stir, stir, stir…I highly recommend it.
Recipe FAQs for Lemon Risotto with Asparagus and Kale
Arborio rice is the most common rice for risotto in the US. Arborio rice is high in amylopectin, a starch that dissolves during the cooking process which gives risotto it’s creamy texture.
Other rice varieties that are good for risotto are vialone nano or carnaroli, which also have a high starch content to achieve the creamy texture you’d expect in a good risotto.
The best wine for risotto is a dry, crisp white wine. The best varieties of white wine for risotto include Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay (make sure it is an unoaked variety!).
A lot of resources will tell you that warm broth will make a better risotto. If I’m being honest, I’ve never done this. I usually use room-temperature broth from my pantry. However, if you’d like to use warm broth, place your broth in a medium saucepan over medium heat to warm it up before you start.
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Summer Vegetable Risotto Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon salted butter
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ C green onion chopped finely
- 2 C kale stemmed and cut into sm. pieces
- ½ lb asparagus snapped and chopped into ~1″ pieces
- 1 + ½ C Arborio rice
- ½ C white wine I use Pinot Grigio
- 4 C broth of choice
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1-2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 C grated parmesan
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan filled half-full with water, bring water to a boil. Place cut up asparagus into boiling water for 2-3 minutes until a fork can just puncture a piece. Pour into a colander to drain and immediately rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, sauté butter, olive oil, green onion, and kale until kale is slightly softened and bright green (~3-4mins)
- Add dry rice to pan and sauté until coated and slightly translucent (~2mins)
- Add wine and stir until absorbed
- Add broth ~¾-1 C at a time (to just cover rice). Stir until all liquid is absorbed. Continue to add broth in ~¾C increments until all broth is used and rice is cooked (~20-25mins). Add the lemon zest and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice with the last round of broth
- Stir in parmesan and cooked asparagus. Taste and add additional lemon juice, salt and pepper if desired.
- Serve and enjoy!
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