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1
Bring a small pot of unsalted water to the boil. Add the asparagus stalks (not the tips) and blanch for 3 minutes to moderate their bitterness. Lift the stalks out and reserve; pour the blanching water into the simmering broth. The broth should smell faintly vegetal and bitter — this is correct.
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2
Melt 30 g of the butter in a wide, heavy-based pan over a medium flame. Add the onion and sweat until translucent and soft, with no colour taken. Add the pearl barley and toast, stirring constantly, for 3–4 minutes. The barley is ready when it smells distinctly nutty and the grains have taken a faint golden hue at the edges.
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3
Pour in the Tocai Friulano and stir until it is fully absorbed and no sharp alcohol smell remains. Add the blanched asparagus stalks, pressing them into the grain to begin releasing their flavour into the base.
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4
This is where the orzotto lives or dies: add the hot broth one ladle at a time, stirring continuously and allowing each addition to be absorbed before the next. Unlike rice, barley releases its starch slowly — maintain patience over 30–35 minutes. The broth must remain hot throughout; a cold ladle arrests the cooking and produces uneven texture. The orzotto is done when the barley is tender with a distinct firm bite at the centre and the liquid has formed a loose, starchy suspension around the grains.
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5
Three minutes before the barley reaches its final texture, fold in the raw asparagus tips. They should remain bright green and just tender — not grey, not collapsed.
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6
Remove the pan from the heat. Add the remaining 30 g of cold butter and the grated Montasio stagionato. Stir vigorously off the heat — mantecatura — until the butter melts and the cheese binds the liquid into a creamy, cohesive finish. Season with salt only now. The surface should move in slow, glossy waves when the pan is tilted.