Lemony Risotto with Shrimp and Asparagus

I badly needed a harbinger of spring today and A&P came through with some lovely-to-look-at (and not bad tasting even though it is a bit too early in the season) asparagus.

This dish actually managed to bring a hint of spring to this cold and rainy and windy day in the NE. I read the reviews of the recipe on Epicurious and followed the lead of several reviewers who supplemented the lemon zest the recipe calls for with some lemon juice. The reviewers were right - the zest alone did not give it quite enough of the lemony punch.

I did think the asparagus/shrimp balance was weighted a little too heavily on the former so I added some of the cooled asparagus tips to my side salad. Pretty tasty.

Recipe can also be found in the May 2009 issue of Gourmet magazine.