Shrimp Risotto Recipe

Risotto

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Risotto is a delicious Italian meal. It is basically the sister of Spanish' paella! You will notice below that broth and butter are two of the ingredients used to make risotto. To reduce sodium content of the recipe, you can use unsalted butter and low sodium broth (or water down the broth).

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of arborio (risotto) rice
  • 5 cups of chicken broth (low sodium) or (you can use 3 cups broth/2 cups water)
  • 3/4 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 3/4 cup of cooking wine
  • 3 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
  • 1/2 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 gloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon of dried crushed red pepper
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon of tarragon (optional)
  • 1 cup of spring vegetables such as asparagus tips, peas, corn, or broccoli
  • 1/2 cup of parsley
  • 1/3 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

  1. Place the rice in a bowl and fill it with hot water. Soak it for 15 minutes. Then drain the water and set the rice aside.
  2. Warm up the chicken broth. Finely chop the onions and garlic, set them aside.
  3. Melt 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add half the garlic and crushed red pepper. Saute them for 30 seconds, and then add shrimp. Saute until shrimp begins to turn pink, about 2 minutes.
  4. Add 1/2 cup of wine. Simmer until shrimps are just cooked through, about 2 minutes. If you overcook shrimp, they get too hard. Take shrimp out with its cooking liquid. Set them aside.
  5. Heat the olive oil in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and the remaining garlic; saute until onion is pale golden, about 4 minutes.
  6. Add rice and stir to coat, about 2 minutes. Add 2 cups of broth mixture. Simmer until liquid is absorbed, stirring often. Continue adding broth mixture 1/2 a cup at a time, stirring often and simmering until liquid is absorbed before adding more, about 20 minutes in total. Don't "drown" the risotto.
  7. Add vegetables.
  8. Cook until rice is just tender and creamy, about 5 minutes.
  9. Add a final shot of white wine. Add the reserved shrimp with its cooking liquid. Stir for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat.
  10. Add Parmesan. Stir 2 tablespoons of parsley into risotto. Season it with pepper.
  11. Transfer the meal to plates. Sprinkle it with the remaining parsley.
  12. Bon appetit!