Seafood Risotto

My sister has asked me to make her some seafood risotto for her (very belated) birthday dinner. When she asked, I could not remember if I had ever made a seafood risotto, although I was sure I’d made other types of risotto. So I decided to do a little practice just to make sure I knew what I was doing, since she wants to learn how to make this at the same time. Not a problem really. The trick is to make sure that you cook the seafood at different times to make sure they are cooked correctly. This rice part of this recipe takes some attention, but it’s worth it and it’s really just a lot of stirring. To finish, you just toss the seafood into the finished risotto and you have an awesome dish!

I chose lobster tails, scallops and shrimp for my seafood. If you like something else just change it up. Since you cook them all separate and toss them together at the end, the type of seafood is really up to you. Here’s what I used:

Risotto:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup small diced onion or shallot
1 small clove minced garlic
salt/pepper to taste
1 cup Arborio rice
4 cups of combined seafood and chicken stock I used 1 1/2 seafood, the rest chicken just so the seafood taste didn’t overwhelm the dish. Use the combo you like.
1/2 cup white wine (or us all stock if you don’t want to use the wine)
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 to 1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup frozen peas
lemon zest and juice to taste, about 1 teaspoon each
1/4 to 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (optional)
Parsley or scallions for garnish (optional)
Seafood:
(1) 5 oz lobster tail, split and removed from the shell
(8) 16-20 count shrimp. I bought them shell on but get whatever is fresh where you shop
(6) sea scallops – again, get what is the freshest at your store
2-3 tablespoons of butter
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil

I season all the seafood with simple Kosher salt and pepper. Melt the butter and the olive oil in a deep cast iron or non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Note: you will be making the risotto in this skillet after you cook the seafood. Dry the scallops by blotting them gently with a paper towel to get them as dry as you can. They will brown better if they are dry. Cook the shrimp first, about 2 minutes per side depending on the size of your shrimp. They will start to curl up when they get close to being done. Set them aside on a plate to rest. You want to remove them right before they are completely ready, since they are going to rest and then go back into the risotto to finish. Same process with the lobster tail meat. Cook the lobster tail about 2-3 minutes per side. Set the tail meat aside with the shrimp. Add more butter as you need it to cook the seafood. Lastly add the scallops and don’t move them around in the pan for 2-3 minutes, depending on their size. You will want to make sure that they have started to brown a little before you turn them. Cook them on the other side 1-2 minutes more, basting them with the butter in the pan as they cook. Remove from the heat and place with the other seafood.

Now it’s rice time! Start heating up your stock mixture in a scaucepan over medium-low heat. The risotto will cook better if the stock is hot when you add it to the rice.

Depending on how much of the oil/butter combo is left in the pan, you may havce to add about 2 more tablespoons of butter, so you have about 4 tbs totoal. Lower the heat to medium. Add the chopped onion to the pan and season with salt and pepper (about 1/2 teaspoon salt to start). Let that cook until the onion is translucent, about 8 – 10 minutes. Add the garlic and the rice and stir to coat the rice with the butter/oil. Saute the rice for about 1-2 minutes to toast the rice. Take your skillet off the heat and add the wine – return the pan to the heat and all ow the wine to deglaze the pan and burn off the alcohol. (Note: You can just use 1/2 cup of stock if you are skipping the wine- no problem) Add 1-2 lades of stock to the rice and stir constantly until the liquid is absorbed. Repeat with another 1-2 ladels of stock, stirring until the liquid is absorbed. You will need to repeat this process 4-6 times until the rice is tender, about 20-25 minutes. Taste the rice when you get to the 4th and 5th addition of stock, making sure the rice is getting tender. Season with salt/pepper as you go too.

As the last ladel of stock is cooking into the rice, add the cream, butter and parmesan (if using) to the rice. Stir well until the butter, cream, and cheese are whipped into the rice. As soon as the liquid is absorbed, add the peas, the lemon juice and zest, and the seafood into the pan and stir genly to combine. Turn the heat off and cover for 5 minutes. Divide the rice and seafood evenly into serving bowls. Serve with more cheese, extra lemon and garnish with parsely. Enjoy!