This ready-made risotto from the shelf needs just a few minutes to reheat and soften into dinner. The asparagus and rice are there; you add broth and finish it with good butter and cheese for depth. A tired cook's shortcut that still tastes like something you made.

Serves 2. 15 minutes, 10 at the stove.

About 460 calories a serving, 44 g protein, 6 g carbohydrate, 29 g fat. From USDA figures for 100% of the ingredients; amounts are the recipe's.

Cook mode

1. Heat 1 cup of broth in a small pot until steaming, then pour the risotto from its package into a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Stir often as it warms and begins to break apart, about three minutes, breaking up any clumps with the back of your spoon.3 min
2. Add the warm broth a splash at a time, stirring as you go, until the rice softens and the risotto turns creamy, about five minutes total. The grains should feel tender against your tongue and move like lava in the pan when you tilt it.5 min
3. Remove from heat and stir in 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 ounces of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano until the butter melts and everything comes together into one silky mass. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper.

Note Swap the broth for white wine or half wine, half broth for more acidity. Leftover risotto keeps three days in the fridge and can be thinned with broth and reheated. Serve with a bitter green salad dressed in red wine vinegar and oil, or a poached egg stirred through each bowl.