With love, from my little kitchen to you...: Salmon with beet risotto

A few weeks ago I went out to dinner and had the most amazing salmon with beet risotto, and I haven't been able to get it off my mind! So I decided to make it.
Now, at the restaurant they served it with leeks, sauteed baby bok choy, and roasted beets, then finished the dish with mint oil. I would have loved to recreate the entire meal, but my market was out of baby bok choy, and I didn't have time to roast fresh beets. So instead, I decided to keep it simple and easy, and just make salmon with beet risotto and sauteed asparagus.

Here goes....
Salmon, Arborio rice, beets (yes, they came from a can. I told you- I had no time to roast fresh ones), mint, oil, asparagus.

Start the risotto fist because it takes the longest to cook. The package should have the recipe, but basically you sautee chopped onions (I keep a bag in the freezer) in a few tablespoons of butter. Then add the rice, sautee for about 2 minutes.

Then add a cup of liquid (water or broth will do) and continue simmering until absorbed, stirring often.
The whole process takes about 35-40 minutes, so you can prep the rest of the meal while it cooks. But don't forget to keep stirring this!

Ok, while the rice cooks, you can chop the beets.
These little suckers are full of color and juice that will turn everything purple, so be careful.

Once the beets are done, it will probably be time to check the rice and add more liquid to it. So go check that, then come back and make the mint oil.
All you have to do is add put some fresh mint leaves and oil in a dish, then puree. I used a ramekin, which my hand blender fits right into, so that made this step really easy.

Ok, now check the rice again, then get a pan ready for the asparagus.
I just tossed then into a hot skillet with a couple drops of oil, then covered them to steam.
After about 5 minutes I tossed them around, put the salmon in the pan (skin side down), then covered it to let everything steam.

While the asparagus and salmon cooked I added the beets to the risotto, stirred them up until all the rice was purple, then turned off the burner and covered the pan to keep it warm.

When the fish was about done, I flipped it over, removed the skin (this is very easy once its cooked), then flipped it back over to finish. The flipping also added a nice sear to the top of the fish.

Ok, now that everything is done, it's time to plate the dish.
I used a measuring cup to scoop the rice onto the plate, so that it would be a nice, pretty little mound.