To burn the same kilojoules through exercise?
20 minutes circuit training

Maybe not the way “Mama makes it”, but using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock cuts 3g of fat and 113kJ. Down at your local Italian eatery, Luigi orders his butter wholesale. And his risotto recipe means you’re “bulk buying”. Switching to olive oil ditches the 14g of heart-breaking saturated fat lurking in butter and slims it down to just 4g of saturated fat.

Stick with either arborio or carnaroli rice. Both of these traditional Italian choices for risotto contain 43 per cent of your recommended daily allowance (RDA) of iron. The choice grains also pack extremely high levels of amylopectin starch, which has the benefit of creating a creamy dish without the addition of trouser-popping cream.

Replacing the ubiquitous bacon with asparagus slashes 423kJ and 10g of fat. Plus, a serving provides 25 per cent of your RDA of folic acid, delivers 80 per cent of your daily vitamin C and supports liver function, according to Dr Tim Harlan, author of Hand On Heart: A Perfectly Ordinary Cookbook (amazon.com, $34).

“Lemons are a great superfood,” says Dr Timothy Brantley, author of The Cure: Heal Your Body, Save Your Life (John Wiley & Sons, $35.99). By keeping your liver ticking over they expel boozy poisons and fight longer lingering after-effects. A healthy liver is crucial to regulate blood sugar and fat storage.

Asparagus Risotto
Serves four

You will need:

• 850 millilitres vegetable stock
• 200g asparagus
• 1 medium red onion
• 1 stalk celery
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 200g arborio or carnaroli risotto rice
• 250ml dry white wine
• 50g parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 tbsp lemon zest, finely grated
• 2 tbsp mint leaves, finely chopped

Plus:
A pot and steamer, medium-sized heavy-bottomed saucepan and a ladle

35 minutes
Heat the stock in the pot over a high heat. Snap the ends off the asparagus, then chop the tops and soft stalks into 2.5-centimetre pieces. Size, in this case, is everything, so if your asparagus is thick, use a peeler to trim it to pencil-width. Place the chopped asparagus in the steamer above the boiling vegetable stock, cover with a lid and steam for five minutes. While you’re waiting, peel the red onion, trim the ends off the celery, then finely chop them both.

30 minutes
Place a medium-sized heavy-bottomed saucepan over a medium heat and add the olive oil. Stir in the onion and celery and sprinkle with salt. Fry the veg until very soft; this should take about 10 minutes. Don’t be tempted to rush the process by turning up the heat – patience will be rewarded with sweet, soft onions.

20 minutes
Add the rice and fry it with the veg until it turns translucent. Add the white wine and stir until it’s all absorbed. Then add three full ladles of hot stock to the rice. Stir until the stock is absorbed, add another ladleful and stir again to release the starch and turn things creamy. Continue the cycle of adding stock until it’s absorbed, ensuring the rice doesn’t get too dry. After about 12 minutes, test the rice to see that it’s cooked through, but still retains some firmness. You may need to cook the rice a bit longer and if you’ve run out of stock, add hot water, but be careful not to overcook it.

Two minutes
Gently fold in the asparagus. Add the parmesan, lemon zest and mint and stir until they’ve warmed. Garnish with an extra sprinkle of parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil before serving it up.

Make it . . .
Pack a protein punch

Sweet baby prawns are a perfect match with the lemon and asparagus in this dish. Substitute a handful of cooked prawns for the parmesan cheese and you’ll get a 25g protein boost per portion, nearly half your recommended daily intake of the lean muscle-builder. And by ditching the parmesan you cut a further 167 kilojoules and 4g fat per serving, making sure you stay more Totti than Pavarotti.

And to drink . . .
“Asparagus and wine?” asks MH wine-expert Ken Gargett, author of Don’t Buy Wine Without Me (Text, $27.95). “Conventional wisdom suggests that they fight like cats in a bag. Ignore it all. A bright shining sauvignon like the 2007 Wolf Blass Gold Label Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc ($22) will shatter your illusions and delight the palate.

“Don’t be afraid of a little sweetness in your wine – asparagus certainly isn’t. A vital, vibrant riesling like Tassie’s Frogmore Creek FGR Riesling 2006 ($24) will be ideal here. FGR stands for 40g residual, but the balance of the wine ensures it will sing at the table.

“Verdelho might be unloved and underrated in the wine world, but it’s a veritable chameleon at the table and will shift shape faster than a Star Trek character to suit this dish. At $22, the Sandalford Margaret River Verdelho 2007 is fresh, fruity, tropical and terrific. Even Spock would find this logical.

“For value and to stamp yourself as trendy as the next bloke with his pinkie raised to a glass of pink wine, try Richard Hamilton’s Gida Rosé 2007 from McLaren Vale ($14). They have stopped this from fermenting to full dryness and the result is perfect for a delicious dish that thrives on some sweet affection.”