Seafood Risotto

Are you ready for an amazing, restaurant-quality dinner at home? This is another one of my hubby's favorite meals. I mentioned that I spent a weekend making several of his favorite meals for him in honor of his birthday — well, this was one of his requests.

I originally got this recipe from one of my dear friends who cooks like a professional chef. We all have those kinds of friends, right? The one who can whip together a masterpiece in minutes. Well, this was one of her meals. We started requesting it every time we'd have dinner at their house. Finally, I wore her down and she shared the recipe.

The recipe scared me when I first got it. Would I be able to pull it off? Would it taste the same?

It took me two tries to get it just right. For me, it came down to adding enough broth at the beginning. Then, I broke the recipe up into steps — and it suddenly became pretty easy to make. 

So, DO NOT fear this fancy-sounding and looking recipe. You are going to love it. It's worth facing your fears. I promise it will be painless. 🙂

First, I'm going to break things down, so you can see just how easy this recipe is. Then I'm going to add the printable recipe below.

You have to try this recipe! Here it is:

Ingredients:

I did most of my shopping at Trader Joe's. I only picked up the arborio rice at a different grocery store. TJ's might carry it, I just haven't looked since I stocked up on the rice last time. (I actually never knew that risotto was made with special rice before making this recipe.) 🙂

Step One:

Chop your onion, measure your rice, crush the saffron, & then toss it all into the skillet with the butter.

Step Two:

Sauté these ingredients until the rice is slightly opaque and the onion is tender. Once it is ready,  start adding broth to the skillet. This is where I changed the recipe a bit. I start off with a lot more broth than the recipe originally called for. I'm too busy to stand over the skillet and add the broth 1/2 cup at a time just to get distracted and burn the rice. You will need to add more broth as the rice cooks, but not as frequently as the original recipe calls for.

Step Three:

While the rice is absorbing the broth. I start defrosting my shrimp and scallops in a colander in the sink. I chop the mushrooms and green onions while the seafood is defrosting. I use another skillet to sauté the veggies in butter (yum!). Toss in the shrimp and scallops. Cook together until the shrimp & scallops are cooked through. I add the chopped tomatoes after the seafood is cooked.
{Don't forget to check your rice and see if it needs more broth!}

Step Four:

The final step before devouring this delicious meal! Just add the veggies & shrimp to the rice mix. Gently toss to combine it. Cook for an additional 3 minutes or until completely cooked.

Serve & Enjoy!  

Seafood Risotto

Yield: 6

Description

This delicious meal will impress your friends & family for sure! It is one of our family favorites!

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Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups Arborio rice, uncooked (or 12oz. package)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 5 cups canned diluted chicken broth (approximately three 14oz. cans or 1 1/2 large boxes)
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. pepper
• 1/8 tsp. saffron threads, crushed
• ½ pound sliced fresh mushrooms
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 2 Tbsp. butter, melted
• ¾ lb. medium-sized shrimp, peeled and deveined
• ½ lb. bay scallops
• ½ cup chopped tomato

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Instructions

1. Sauté rice and chopped onion in butter in a large skillet until rice is opaque and onion is tender.
2. Add half of the chicken broth to the skillet along with salt, pepper, and saffron.
3. Bring to a boil, then cover & reduce heat and simmer until liquid is absorbed. MAKE SURE IT DOES NOT GET TOO DRY! Add the remaining broth in half-cup increments until the mixture is creamy and the rice is tender.
4. While rice is cooking, sauté mushrooms and green onions in the remaining butter until vegetables are tender.
5. Add shrimp & scallops; cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes or until shrimp is pink and scallops are opaque.
6. Add diced tomatoes to the shrimp & scallops mix.
7. Add shrimp mixture to rice mixture
8. Toss gently to combine.
9. Cook over low heat for 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Notes

I use frozen seafood typically, so I need to defrost it before adding it to the skillet. To do so, simply run cool water over your shrimp & scallops while they are in a colander in the sink. I use the spray attachment on the faucet. Rotate the colander occasionally to be sure it is defrosting evenly.

I hope you enjoy this delicious family-favorite recipe!

{Should I also tell you that my friend who gave me this recipe is not only an amazing cook, but is also a pediatrician, head of IT for her hospital, & could be a professional pianist? An overachiever! But one of the most humble & wonderful people I know. Thanks for the recipe!}