Shrimp Risotto

Risotto, a dish that you only consider getting in a restaurant and never attempting to making it in your house. Well its quite an intimidating dish but its actually not that difficult to make at home. It just requires a lot of attention and good quality ingredients.

WHAT IS A RISOTTO?

An italian dish that is often compared by many bloggers as the rice version of mac and cheese. Its unlike any rice recipes, as it uses a high starched, short grained rice and broth (meat or veg). It is a simple dish but it can be of several varieties with the rice and broth version as the base.

INGREDIENTS YOU WILL NEED

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil – I know this is a very expensive oil but its worth the spend.
• Arborio Rice also known as the risotto rice.
• Onion – We will need a small onion and it should be finely chopped. It should be around 1 tablespoon.
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• White wine – Now I didn’t use white wine in this recipe but I would recommend using this to boost the flavor.
• Fish stock
• Cheese (optional)
• Milk with a few strands of Saffron
• Shrimp – Get the shrimp peeled and cleaned from the vendor or do it yourself.
• Salt and Pepper

METHOD

1. Shrimp

• First we will need to prepare the shrimp. In a pan heat a tablespoon of oil over medium heat.
• Gently place the shrimp one by one in the pan and cook them for 2-3 minutes on each side. You will know that your shrimp is cooked when the translucent flesh turns opaque.
• Season with salt and pepper. After they are done transfer them to a bowl and set it aside.

2. Risotto

• Now its time to cook the main body of this dish. First we will toast the rice. In a heavy based saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat until very hot. Add the onion and red pepper flakes and stir until the onion is almost brown.
• Then add the rice and cook, stirring gently until each grain is coated with oil, which will take about 2 minutes. Next, you will add the wine. In case you are not using wine you can use fish stock. Boil the wine/fish stock with the rice until it is completely absorbed but don’t let the pan be completely dry.
• Next is the time for the broth to shine. Add a couple ladlefuls of the stock to rice and stir well every few minutes. When the liquid dries up add one more ladleful of stock. If you cannot understand if you need to add more stock then drag the spoon through the rice, if the liquid doesn’t immediately fill in the space then its time to add more stock.
• Continue this process until the risotto is al dente, about 20 to 25 minutes. Next you will add the milk with the saffron. To do this heat the milk in a microwave for a few seconds or until its lukewarm and then add 2-3 strands of saffron. Stir the milk and add it to the risotto and cook for another 3-4 minutes and finally add the shrimp and season as needed.
• Now if you notice that there’s too much liquid in the pan then increase the heat to evaporate the liquid.
• Remove from the heat and serve with a little drizzle of olive oil, cheese, and freshly crushed black pepper.