Brown Rice Risotto with Asparagus

i decided to re-engineer Risotto with brown rice to create a healthy but still flavorful version. here's what i did:

Ingredients:

chopped onion
garlic minced
1.5 cups Brown Rice (you can used mixed varieties or just one)
3/4 cup White Wine
Vegetable Stock
Asparagus
Shredded Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
garlic chives (feel free to substitute with any aromatic herb you prefer - fresh basil would taste great in my opinion)
white truffle oil
sea salt to taste

Note: all measurements are highly approximate and intended to provide guidance to a mature, seasoned cook. so typically, just use common sense while measuring and also adjust according to taste.

heat olive oil & add chopped onions. heat the stock & keep on low heat. saute until onions are translucent but don't let them brown. add garlic & saute for another 1-2 min. add the rice & mix well. add white wine & cook until rice is almost dry. add 1/2 cup stock at a time & keep on simmer. cook until rice is 3/4 done. this will take approx 45 min, a little longer than with white rice. you can prep until this stage & finish up the rest just prior to serving. add 1/2 cup veg stock, asparagus, salt to taste and freshly ground black pepper. when rice and asparagus are done (3-4 min approx) add garlic chives and cheese. when serving, drizzle with truffle oil, sprinke chives & some fresh coarse ground pepper. serve immediately.

Tip: you can either cook the asparagus in the risotto as per instructions above or alternatively microwave or steam until done (i like to leave a little crunchy). in that case, just fold the asparagus in right at the end along with the cheese.

the end result was just plain ambrosia and i personally liked it more than the usual arborio rice version. the brown rice added a nutty, chewy texture which i find missing in the arborio rice. the only mistake i made was using frozen Asparagus tips from Trader Joe's coz they were handy but next time i would certainly use fresh asparagus. no doubt, it was the truffle oil that put the taste over the top so i strongly recommend NOT missing this step. you can buy truffle oil online or at a Trader Joe's near you. If you're lucky, you may find a local gourmet food store that sells imported high-quality truffle oil (like i am, in fact Seattle has a little store in Pike Place Market that sells all things made with truffles only;)