INSTRUCTIONS

In a saucepan add a little olive oil ( or whichever ill you can tolerate - butter is ok too if you prefer it but if you use butter this will not be dairy free). Add the onion and cook on a low heat until the onion is softened but not browned.

Add the rice stirring it so it is coated in the oil and the onion is evenly distributed. Ada a little water at a time, allowing the rice to soak it up before adding more. Stir occasionally to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Whilst you are doing this prepare the asparagus. If you take a whole asparagus stalk and bend the top down it will snap giving you the freshest part of the asparagus. Discard teh rest. Cut the tips off about 5cm down the stalk and then cut the rest of the stalk into rings.

When the rice is soft on the outside and still too hard to eat in the middle (aroun 15 - 20 mins) put a pan on a medium heat with a little oil or butter. Stir fry the asparagus.

After about 5 minutes, take out half of the dics of asparaus leaving the larger pieces to cook a little longer. Turn the heat down. Put the asparagu you have taken out into a blender. If you can tolerate it you can add a tablespoon of cream (dairy), otherwise if it needs a little liquid add some water or a splash of olive oil. Puree until it is smooth and silky.

When the rice is cooked put it in a serving dish, pour the pureed asparagus onto it and roughly fold into the rice. Place the remaining pieces on top.

Roughly chop the basil (you can use holy basil here if you prefer, but it has a slightly different flavour) and sprinkle on the top with a drizzle of olive oil.