Meal Rating:
Time – 6
Complexity – 7
Food – 9
Overall Success – 7.5 out of 10
Looking for something different to cook for that special someone on Mothers Day?
Try this recipe out… Guaranteed you won’t be disappointed!
When you think Italian cooking what comes to mind?
Lasagna?
Spaghetti?
Penne?
While all great dishes (and just a few of the reasons I married a good Italian girl!) you really haven’t TRIED great Italian food until you’ve set your lips around a spoonful of Risotto.
I was raised in an Uncle-Ben’s-5-minute-white-rice household and suffice to say there was a time when I wasn’t very fond of Rice, preferring pasta whenever I had a choice. I mentioned this to an Italian friend of mine in University one time and her reply will always stick with me:
Rice is to Risotto what Wheat is to Pasta – and then she cooked me some sundried tomato Risotto… I’ve been hooked ever since. Yes, it’s that good.
There are literally dozens of recipes (possible hundreds!) floating around the Internet for Risotto. Which means that it’s a great dish to make if you have any meat and/or veggies in your fridge that you want to get rid of… If my Grandmother had made Risotto, she would have called it a Railroad dish – meaning any food stuffs at hand could be thrown in the pot when cooking.
Here is one of my favorite Risotto recipes:
What you will need:
1 cup Italian Arborio rice
1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1 pound of Shrimp (or 1/2 pound each of Shrimp and Scallops)
3 + 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves of Garlic
1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion
Fennel Greens.
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio
6 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
1/2 cup Romano cheese
1/4 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano
2 Tablespoons butter
Pre-Prep
Get the Porcini mushrooms ready before hand.
Rinse them and throw them into a bowl with boiling water. Let them sit for 30 minutes.
Step 1
- Bring the White Wine to a slow boil and add shrimp. Simmer until Srimp is mostly cooked.
- Set Your chicken stock in a pot and simmer. When they’re ready, add the Porcini mushrooms (including the water they were sitting in to rehydrate)
- In a separate saucepan heat some Olive Oil and add the Onions to start cooking.
Step 2
- Remove Shrimp and Wine mixture from heat.
- Add Fennel Greens to stock along with some pepper.
- Add the Rice to the Onions and mix well. Olive Oil should fully coat every grain of rice (this helps to slow the absorption of liquid).
Step 3
- Start adding the Broth to the Rice, but only add enough to cover the rice (2 or 3 scoops). Turn the temperature down low and stir periodically until most of the broth has been absorbed. Add more broth and repeat this step until the Rice is mostly cooked, and you are mostly out of broth.
Step 4
- Add the Shrimp mixture to the rice when risotto is mostly cooked, and continue stirring.
Step 5
- Once most of the liquid has boiled off the Rice mixture, add the Butter and cheese and continue cooking until the Rice is complete.
It should now look something like this:
Step 6
- Dole the Risotto out in smaller bowls.
- Sprinkle with Parsley and Ramono
Step 7
-Remove from heat and allow to sit for 4-7 minutes
That’s it! I served this with Salmon and a Greek Salad, which worked out great. This dish is so rich, it’ll knock your socks off!
Let me know if you have another good Risotto recipes or let me know how this recipe worked for you!
