Seasonal Recipe – Risotto with Cromer Crab & Asparagus

We are big fans of local, seasonal food and at the moment, you can’t go too far without seeing fresh, local asparagus for sale throughout North Norfolk. We are also very lucky to have an abundance of locally sourced fresh fish and shellfish that’s available to buy from several good food outlets and Norfolk’s famous Cromer Crab is now coming into season too.
These two great ingredients work really well together in the following recipe:

Risotto with Cromer Crab & Asparagus

1. Place stock in the pan and bring to the boil. Remove the woody ends from the asparagus, add the spears to the stock and cook for 4-5 minutes, until just tender. Remove cooked asparagus from the stock & keep warm and make sure you keep stock to cook the risotto rice.
2. Add a small amount of olive oil to the base of a medium saucepan with the then add the onion and fry, stirring until just soft. Add the risotto rice and cook for a further 2 minutes. Pour in the wine and continue cooking until the liquid is absorbed.
3. Add a ladleful of stock to the rice and stir until absorbed. Continue adding the stock in this way, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed. (This should take about 15 minutes in total).
4. Finally, add the cooked asparagus, reserving a few spears to place on top of the dish and stir in the crab meat. Cook for a further 1-2 minutes until crab is heated through. Season to taste, top with the extra spears, then serve immediately, garnished with the parsley and the lemon wedges.