Recipes from everywhere: Seafood Risotto

Monday 4 February 2013

Seafood Risotto

Ingredients

This recipe serves 4.

2 cups Carnaroli rice
8-12 prawns (shelled and keep the heads aside)
8 scallops
2 big squid (sliced into rings)
800g chicken broth (Dilute with 0.5l water)
1 carrot (sliced)
2 tomatoes (chopped and divide in 2 portions)
1 onion (chopped and divide into 2 portions)
4 cloves garlic (2 sliced and 2 mashed)
2 teaspoons dried mixed herb
Dry white wine (Chardonnay)
60g butter
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Directions

Boil the chicken broth with prawn heads, carrot, 1 portion each of the chopped tomatoes and onion and the mashed garlic. Put stock aside.

Season the scallops with salt and pepper.

In a cast iron pan or a heavy bottom saute pan, heat the pan until very hot. Add plenty of oil in the pan and add the scallops.

Do not touch the scallops until a nice brown crust has formed. Once a nice crust has developed, flip it over and add a tablespoon of butter. Tilt the pan a littler and splash the scallops with the hot butter oil. Cook for another minute and remove it from the pan.

Place the scallops on a piece of paper towel to drain off the excess oil. Put aside.

In the same pan, heat olive oil and saute garlic until before it browns. Add the remaining tomatoes and all the seafood. Saute the seafood for a minute. Add white wine and cook for another minute. Add salt, pepper and the mixed herbs. The seafood should just be 80% cooked at this stage. Transfer and put aside.

Heat up the pan again with butter and olive oil. Add remaining onion and sweat until before it turn brown. Add the Carnaroli rice and coat the rice with the butter and onion. Pour in the white wine and allows the rice to absorb the liquid.

Once the wine is fully absorbed by the rice, add the liquid from the stir-fried seafood to the pan. Add the stock in few stages (on average three), allowing the liquid to be absorbed each time before adding the next amount. Stir continuously until the stock is almost completely absorbed.

When the rice is just tender but still firm to the bite (al dente), add the seafood and cook for another minute or until the seafood is cooked and the rice starchy and ready.

Spoon the rice to serving plate and arrange the prawn, squid and seared scallop on top. Garnish with fresh dill.