Seafood Risotto (Ross bil-frott tal bahar)

 

Wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day! 

Nicole here again, celebrating the milestone of my 50th blog posting for the 'Cooking with Colour Food Blog'. It has been nine years to the date since I first started blogging about my serious passion for food  And how better to celebrate this entry then by preparing a rich and savory dish to celebrate over the weekend for Family Day!  

This seafood risotto is wonderfully rich, creamy and dense. Adding lobster truly enhances the richness of this dish as the garlic, seafood and butter sing together in harmony. Each bite lingers blissfully on the palate, which is why it is important to complement this dish with a high acidic wine to balance its richness. A fine dish to make to let your loved ones know just how much you care for them, and while I would suggest a Canadian Riesling, you can alternatively make it festive and stick to bubbles!

While my siblings and I grew up in a bustling and busy kitchen, we were always cautioned with the age old rule, 'To never add cheese to fish.'  I can just hear the words of my father, 'Not even a light dustin.' ' And while my father held his cooking rules close to his heart, I implore my own rules based on taste and richness. While you can certainly omit the cheese in this recipe, I find its integration adds a sharpness to the dish without overpowering the seafood. The cheese also brings a lovely creaminess to this dish which I love and enjoy.

Wishing you and your families a lovely, Family Day long-weekend!

Alcohol Pairing: Canadian Riesling or Italian Prosecco

Yields: 4-6 servings

What you Need:

1½ cup Arborio rice 

1 cup prosecco or dry white wine

1 cup shallots, finely chopped

3-4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (divided)

4-5 cups of vegetable or fish stock

1½ cup shrimp (fresh or frozen, shell removed)

1½ cup mussels (fresh, steamed & shell removed or frozen)

½ cup of Parmesan & Cortonese cheeses, grated

½ cup of butter (divided)

Chopped parsley for fish & final dressing 

White pepper

Optional Ingredients*

*Meat from two lobster tails

How to make it Happen:

1. Prepare your vegetable or fish stock for the risotto. I resort to a 1½ bouillon cubes dissolved into 4-5 cups of boiling water. 
2. Rinse and deshell the fresh/defrosted shrimp in a colander. Here I have also used frozen mussels with their shells removed to streamline the process, however fresh mussels would be most excellent. Add the shellfish to a medium saucepan with half the portion of chopped garlic, half the portion of butter, drizzle of olive oil, chopped parsley and a quarter measurement of the prosecco. Set aside the rest of the prosecco for the rice.
3. Sautee the shellfish on medium-low heat for 6-8 minutes or until the shrimp is pink and the mussels plump and bright orange in colour. Continue to step 5.

   

   Sautee shellfish with garlic, butter, olive oil, parsley & prosecco

   
   

   

   Sautee on medium-low heat until the shrimp is pink & the mussels plump

   
   
4. OPTIONAL STEP (Adding Lobster): Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Before adding the lobster tails, reduce the heat slightly and cook until the lobster turns bright red (approximately 1 minute/ounce). Allow the lobster to cool in a colander. Once cooled, hold each tail up with the underside facing towards you. Make an incision down the interior middle of each tail, lengthwise. QUICK TIP: Use a pair of kitchen shears to help assist this process. Use your hands to help crack the succulent meat away from the shell. Once the meat is removed, cut into bite-size pieces.

   

   Cook the lobster in gently boiling, salted water until the shell turns bright red 

   
   

   

   Make an incision down the interior middle of each tail, lengthwise with kitchen shears

     
   

   

   Use your hands to help crack the succulent meat away from the shell

   
   
5. Next, combine the shallots and the divided portion of garlic together in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Sauté on medium heat until the shallots become translucent. PLEASE NOTE: I enjoy the sweet and sharp flavour shallots bring to this dish; however, you can easily substitute onions for shallots. Just ensure to add equal parts of onion to the recipe. 
   
6. Add the Arborio rice to the sautéed shallots and garlic, coating the rice by stirring constantly for several minutes. Once the rice is coated, add the prosecco and continue to sauté for another 4-7 minutes to allow the rice to absorb the liquid.

   

   Add the prosecco and allow the rice to absorb the liquid

   
   
7. Remove the shrimp and mussels from the heat and allow to cool. 
8. Place the prepared stock close to your prosecco flavoured rice and gradually ladle 1-2 spoonsful of stock into the rice mixture and stir until the liquid is absorbed. Continue to ladle the stock into the risotto until the liquid is absorbed, stirring the mixture constantly. QUICK TIP: You do not want to RUSH or CHOKE this process. This takes time so be prepared! This is the most important step in creating rich and creamy risotto! Ensure to continue to add the stock slowly to allow the rice to absorb the liquid in small quantities. As the stock is added the rice becomes thick and creamy. 
9. Once all the stock is absorbed, add the shrimp, mussels and remaining juices' from the fish into the risotto and combine slowly.

   

   Add the shrimp, mussels and remaining juices' into the risotto and combine slowly

   
   
10. Next, the optional step of adding lobster to the risotto. Ensure to add the lobster, remaining butter and grated cheeses to the risotto. Continue to cook on medium-low heat for another 4-7 minutes or until the risotto is dense and creamy. Plate with a sprig of parsley and white cracked pepper.

    

    Add the lobster, remaining butter and grated cheese to the risotto

     
    

    

    Continue to cook on low heat until dense and creamy

    
    

    

    Plate with a sprig of parsley and white cracked pepper