Michele and I saw a recipe in of all places, a kitchen catalogue the other day and tried it with a few modifications.  The fresh herbs make the dish.  If you don't have these exact herbs, improvise. 

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Lay out asparagus on cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil and salt. Roast asparagus until slightly charred and somewhat toothsome. When finished, chop stems into 1/2 inch pieces, reserve spears for garnish.

Saute pancetta in the olive oil & butter. Take out the pancetta and set aside. Add the onion to the pancetta fat and saute until translucent. Add the arborio rice and stir until all the rice is coated. Add the white wine and let it reduce. Add the chicken stock, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well between additions. Just before you add the last 1/2 cup of stock, add the herbs, asparagus pieces and reserved pancetta - saving some for garnish. The rice should be neither crunchy nor mushy when done. Cooking time is usually 20 minutes. When risotto is finished, add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and serve garnished with reserved pancetta and asparagus spears. The tough question is what to drink with this beauty. I want a sultry white from up north - Tocai Friuliano is the answer.  (BTW - Tocai Friuliano is soon to be just Friuliano because the Hungarian lawyers sued over the name Tocai and won - even though the Italians had been using the name for centuries before.)