Seafood Risotto

Comfort food, but also loaded with calories! I went all ahead with this one for my children with the butter and cream, but if I made this for myself, it would probably be just with olive oil and chunks of fish.  We are having a dry February, so there was no wine to drink with this beautiful risotto; but I did have left over wine from before that I used for cooking the rice. This could be a quick mid week dinner too as it is easy to prepare and quick to cook.  All up, it took me just about an hour including prep. I adapted the Recipe Tin Eats recipe to suit my taste.  I served it with a simple salad of shredded beetroot, cucumber, salad leaves and a feta cheese dressing.

Ingredients:

2 cups    Arborio Rice - unwashed

1 large onion, chopped finely

1 1/2 cups of green peas, thawed

5 cloves of garlic, chopped finely

3 tablespoons butter

5 tablespoons olive oil

400 grams of pre marinated prawns (garlic prawns is what I used here)  You can use plain raw prawns as well.

200 grams of mixed sea food

3 cups chicken stock

1 cup white wine

1 cup milk

1 cup cream

1 cup parmesan cheese, microplaned

1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes

salt and pepper to taste

Chopped parsley for garnish

Extra parmesan for serving

Step 1:

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a flat and wide sauce pan and lay all the prawns on the hot oil in a single layer.  Cook for 1 minute on one side, turn it over and cook for another 1 and a half minutes. Add pepper to the prawns - just enough for a touch of heat.

Using a slotted spoon, take the cooked prawns out and place in a bowl. Do the same with the rest of the sea food.  Add a tablespoon of oil for the second batch if needed.

Step 2:

In to the same pan, add 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon oil and when the butter melts, add the garlic.  Saute for a few minutes and use your spoon to scrape out all the fried bits of prawns and se food and incorporate with the garlic. After a minute or so, add the chilli flakes and the chopped onions and saute.  When the onions become transluscent, add the wine. Cook for about 3 minutes or so until the alcohol smell disappears. Next add the rice. The rice which is white all over, will turn transparent at the edges in about 3 minutes. Now it is time to add 2 cups of the stock. Let the rice cook on low fire until all the stock is almost absorbed.

When the first lot of stock is absorbed, add the remaining stock, milk and half the cream.  Let the rice cook. Again, when the liquid is almost absorbed, add the remaining butter, and the parmesan cheese. Stir well.  Next, drop the green peas in. The rice will be 95% cooked by now, and by the time the peas cook, the rice will be fully cooked and still retain its shape. Add the pre cooked seafood mix and prawns along with its juices and mix well. Check for salt and add if needed.

Step 3:

Dont let all the liquid in the pan evaporate.  If there is no liquid in your sauce pan, add 2 tablespoons of water at a time and make the dish slightly loose. 

Sprinkle chopped parsley and serve with salad.

This dish is best eaten fresh, but if you have leftovers, and need to reheat, microwave with a tablespoon or two of water and mix well.