Cream of Brie Soup with Lemon Asparagus Risotto

This doesn't happen very often, but I have a vegetarian meal for you! (Okay, it uses chicken broth, so I guess it's not perfect, but you could totally use vegetable broth instead.)

While I was in Quebec, I looked through a Ricardo cookbook and jotted down a few recipes that looked good. One was for Cream of Brie Soup with Mushroom Duxelles.

This soup was easy to make, and if you like brie, you'll love this. I only like brie in small doses, so I found this soup a little too strong for my taste, and so did my daughter. But my husband loved it, and after much convincing, my son even tried a spoonful.... and then ate 10 more (willingly!)

The other part of tonight's meal was Lemon Asparagus Risotto, which I saw on an episode of French Food at Home.
The risotto was easy, but tedious, to make. You have to add the hot broth a little bit at a time and stir the rice while it soaks up the liquid. It took at least 30 minutes, but it was worth it! The lemon zest and sautéed asparagus were perfect with the creamy risotto. I absolutely loved it, and even though it was a lot of work, I can't wait to try a few other flavour combinations in risotto. (FYI - I used Arborio rice to make the risotto, and a Chardonnay for all the white wine in the recipes.)

This was a filling, flavourful meal - I hope you'll try it sometime!