Double posting - British Asparagus

It's not often I post twice in one day, but I felt bad for neglecting my blog for the past week or so, and also I had a bit of a cooking spree today. I had this urge to cook - you've seen the baking results, and here is what materialised for dinner. We had some British Asparagus sitting waiting to be used, and I was craving a risotto. Dad always used to make either a risotto or a curry whenever we had a roast chicken. When I was younger, I certainly preferred risotto, and when I got the chance to make it for the first time a few years ago, I jumped at the chance. My first risotto was a Broad Bean and Lemon Zest, and it was pretty good, for a first attempt. Now, it's been a while since I roasted a whole chicken (I think it must have been the epic Christmas dinner I cooked in our small kitchen...) so this risotto uses ham, but would be lovely without, I'm sure.

Now I'm craving a curry. B will be revising hard at his house over the next few days, so I spy another curry making opportunity in the next few days!
                                   

Asparagus and Ham Risotto
Makes 2 large portions

Ingredients:
200g risotto rice
1 litre vegetable or chicken stock
Bunch of asparagus
1 courgette
1 onion
1 clove garlic
100g ham, chopped
4tbsp grated parmesan, plus extra to sprinkle on top
Seasoning

1. Place the stock in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the asparagus and cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove the asparagus and put into cold water. Chop the tips from the asparagus and set aside. Chop the stalks into small pieces.
2. Finely chop the onion, courgette and garlic.
3. Heat oil/frylight in a large saucepan and add the onion, garlic, courgette and asparagus pieces. Fry off for around 10 minutes
4. Add the risotto rice and stir until the rice is coated with the oil.
5. Add the stock, one ladle at a time, stirring frequently. Once all the stock is absorbed by the rice, add the next ladle until all the stock has been used. The rice should now be al dente - soft, but with bite.
6. Add the asparagus tips and ham. Stir through and heat for a few minutes. Stir through the 4tbsp parmesan. Season to taste.
7. Serve, topped with more parmesan.