A vegetarian dish if you’re no fan of tofu

Yes, I’m still a vegetarian, and yes I’ve moved past tofu.

Though my foray into the other, other white “meat” went well, it’s simply not something I want to get used to cooking. Or eating.

The longer I explore the many culinary facets of a vegetarian diet, the more I realize that with a few modifications (and a keen eye for ingredient lists), vegetarianism can be very fulfilling.

It makes ordering food at Taco Bell and Chili’s harder, but not impossible.

For example, the bean patty at Chili’s is excellent if you want a burger minus the beef.

But you’re here for cooking ““ not ordering ““ instructions.

This week I made mushroom risotto with red wine and roasted asparagus with shallots ““ a wonderful meal with no meat and no tofu.

If you shop at the Westwood Ralphs, you know that usually they only have two kinds of asparagus: spears about as thick as a pencil and spears about as thick as your wrist.

I went with the skinny ones because they look nicer, cook in less time, and are easier to eat.

If you have a Costco membership and a car, you can buy very large quantities of 1/4 inch asparagus for only a few dollars.

When you’re ready to cook, wash and pat dry the spears.

Then take one and firmly grasp the stem end with one hand; with your other hand grab the middle of the spear.

Bend the asparagus until it snaps, and this will get rid of the hard, woody end people often have trouble locating.

Use the spear you just snapped as a guide for where to cut the stems off of the rest of the asparagus, then put them on a baking sheet and preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Drizzle some extra-virgin olive oil on the asparagus and sprinkle two to three thinly sliced shallots on top.

Add a generous amount of salt and pepper and put the sheet in the oven for 10 to 20 minutes.

They will cook at different times depending on what size you bought, so keep a careful eye on them and try them periodically to test how crunchy they are to gauge when they will be done.

Risotto is another example of something that normally isn’t vegetarian (like a burger) but can be very easily.

It’s usually made by stirring chicken stock into rice as it cooks, but I found that vegetable stock gives it the same deep, full-bodied flavors.

Many people, including my parents, don’t think they have the time, energy or skill to cook risotto. No matter what your excuse, you’re wrong.

The dish is virtually indestructible as long as you have a bit of patience.

It’s also very versatile. You can use any variety of mushroom in it, you can add meat, different cheeses and even smoked salmon if you don’t like my red wine and mushroom idea.

But this is something I would rather show you than describe here.

If you want a look inside my sad little kitchen you can jump over to dailybruin.com/dbtv for a video tutorial on how, specifically, to accomplish this spectacular dish.

If you have tips on ordering vegetarian takeout e-mail Pesce at [email protected].