Asparagus and Ham Risotto with a Fried Egg
I love a fried egg. I love them oozy and cut up over Nasi Goreng, making a meal of roasted asparagus or simply with toast for breakfast, a runny yolk and crispy whites, yum. I didn’t discover fried eggs until I was in college, the runny yolks seemed so unappetizing to me, and I’d only eat my eggs scrambled, hard boiled or in the form of an omelet or a frittata. Not sure what shifted for me, but after my first taste of those rich yolks slipping over my toast I was hooked, and now I’m looking for more platforms to soak up my yolks.
It is amazing to me that after 9 months of eating two eggs a day that I still want to eat them. I was really over them for a while, but I am back and I think that my body is asking for the protein. I decided to nourish that craving for fried eggs and experiment with a fried egg on top of risotto. Thinking of Nasi Goreng and how beautifully the yolk binds everything together, it could do the same for a risotto. The only problem was that risotto is already bound together with the starch from the rice and the stock that it is cooked in. Though it tasted great, it was a bit too rich and creamy for my taste, though I may have added too much liquid to the risotto, I’ll try for a drier risotto the next time around.
Asparagus and Ham Risotto with a Fried Egg
- ½ an onion, chopped finely
- 1 cup of Carnaroli or Arborio rice (Italians measure rice by demitasse cups, 1 cup for each person and one for the pot)
- 1 bunch asparagus, about a pound
- ½ a cup of chopped ham
- 5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 cup of dry white wine
- 3 tbsp butter, separated
- a few sprigs of flat-leaf parsley
- 2-4 eggs, depending on how many mouths you are feeding
- salt to taste
Break the ends of the asparagus stalk and discard, break the rest of the stalk into 1-inch pieces and rinse well.
Chop the onion into fine pieces and bring the broth to a simmer. Heat a large stovetop casserole pan over medium-high heat and melt 1 tbsp butter at the bottom of the pan. When the butter is melted add onion and sauté until the onion is translucent. Add rice and coat it in the butter, toasting it a bit. When the rice becomes opaque, after about 1 minute, add the wine to the pan, enough to cover the rice, stir frequently.
When the rice has absorbed the wine, add the asparagus and a ladleful of broth to the pan and continue stirring. Continue adding the broth as the rice absorbs it, you want it to almost dry out before adding the broth each time. Add the ham to the risotto towards the end of its cooking.
Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat, add butter. Once the butter has melted crack the eggs in the pan being careful not to break the yolk. Fry the eggs to your liking.
When the rice is finished it should be al dente and all of the liquid should be absorbed. Remove from heat and add the rest of the butter. Serve immediately with a fried egg on top.
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Italicious 
ciao I am tuscanycious! here we make asparagus with poached eggs, it’s a typical recipe….it’s great that you’re italicious and I’m tuscanycious!