Our neighborhood Friday night dinner club celebrated Valentine’s Day at our house. We were responsible for the main course. Actually, I was responsible for the main course. The dish was going to be shrimp risotto. When I went to check my vacuum sealed shrimp supply that I had gotten from Terry Gartman at the last Augusta Fall Gathering, I found I was out of the good Gulf shrimp. All I had left were five one-pound packages of Royal Reds. That’s what I went with. If you have never experienced Royal Reds, they have more of a cold-water lobster taste than a shrimp taste, IMO. They made this risotto particularly good.
I used two one-packages which I shelled and deveined. I cooked the shells in the chicken stock to help season the risotto. I cut the shrimp up and quickly cooked them.
Next up were finely diced onions cooked slowly.
Arborio rice was added to the cooked onions.
After adding the shrimp/chicken stock, the Chardonnay wine and the freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano and stirring a lot, it was time to add the shrimp to the risotto. Cooking risotto on the top of the stove is a lot like BBQ, low and slow. It took almost an hour to incorporate all the liquids in the rice. The rice comes out very velvety and creamy.
Here is a plated serving. It doesn’t look like a lot. However, with a light salad it is just enough. I find that shrimp risotto is particularly rich and you don’t need/want too much. Yes, I did attempt to take two extra small shrimp and make a heart on the top. The greenery is some basil chiffonade for both color and flavor.
I received lots of compliments from everyone, particularly all the ladies. This is not something that is on our regular menu. Way too rich. Great for that special meal, however.
Here is the recipe I used. You can use shrimp and scallops together to make this dish.
Shrimp Risotto
Recipe By: Washington Post
Serving Size: 6 to 8
Ingredients:
2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 1/2 cups chicken stock, or canned chicken broth
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup diced onion
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Peel and devein the shrimp, reserving the shells. Set the shrimp aside. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the chicken stock and shrimp shells and heat, uncovered, just un till it simmers. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. While the chicken stock heats, in a large saute pan over medium-high heat, combine 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels and add them to the pan. Cook, stirring frequently, until just cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp to a plate and set aside.
3. Strain the stock, discarding the shrimp shells. Return the stock to a medium heat. In a 3 to 4 quart pot over medium heat, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Stir in the Arborio rice. Salt and pepper to taste. Add 1 cup of hot stock to the rice mixture and cook, stirring constantly until the stock is almost completely absorbed. Add the remaining stock in 1/2 cup increments and cook, stirring constantly, until the stock is absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup of stock. When done the rice should be just slightly firm to the bite and the rice mixture should look creamy. If necessary, add another 1/2 cup of stock. Add wine and cook, again stirring constantly, until fully absorbed.
4. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese and half the shrimp.
5. Spoon the risotto into individual bowls and garnish with the remaining shrimp. Serve immediately.
Notes:
I use the same wine to cook with that I serve with the dinner, like a Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay or Prosecco.
Art
