Fennel and Artichoke Risotto with Grilled Asparagus

I love a good fridge and pantry clean out. You get the fleeting pleasure of an orderly kitchen, and sometimes an unexpectedly good meal, when you take the fridge and pantry challenge. This fennel and artichoke risotto was the happy result of my last clean up -- which also included a sweep though the winter vege patch to weed out some past-its-best greenery.

The Ingredients:

Found in the fridge: half a red pepper, a bag of Jerusalem artichokes, a bunch of green onions, a stump of parmesan, half a bag of bacon bits, and a little bunch of asparagus.
Found in the pantry: a couple of nearly-empty bags of risotto rice.
Found in the garden: a gone-to-seed fennel bulb and a clump of giant parsley.

This parsley is bordering on mutant. It's a variety called Genovese Giant, and it's giant indeed. Very big taste too.

And this is the enchanted fennel forest, which grew slowly but surely over winter, and has now bolted up and started going to seed. Fennel tastes like fennel, whether it's in gorgeous plump bulbs for $14 a kilo at the shops, or going to seed in your garden. Perfectly edible, so don't throw it out!

Back to that risotto.

I made it, as usual, from the always-works-out risotto recipe.

The saute:
green onions, Jerusalem artichokes, red pepper and gone-to-seed fennel bulb.

The stock:
chicken from Sunday's roast, but a box or can is just fine. A splash of white wine.

The finishing flavours:
Parmesan, crispy fried bacon bits, and a squirt of lemon (found on a tree up the street).

On the side:
grilled asparagus. 

The Result? 

I didn't expect the Jerusalem artichoke to be so good in a risotto. The artichoke taste was strong and punchy in a good way. It was a great balance for the punchy new asparagus. Its texture, a bit like potato, melded nicely with the creamy rice. The bacon bits added some salty crunch.

For a dinner of found and scrounged ingredients, I reckon it was a real winner.

(Has anyone else got a lemon tree in their street that is just begging you to steal its lemons?)