Shrimp Scampi Risotto

Enjoying a good risotto usually means standing over the stove stirring rice for the classic 18 minutes. Not so with this scrumptious shrimp and rice dish. Be sure to use the best shrimp you can find, and don’t skimp on the cheese either. You won’t be sorry!

SHRIMP SCAMPI RISOTTO

¼ cup olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1½ cups arborio or carnaroli rice
½ cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio
4 cups chicken broth, simmering
1 tsp. dry oregano
½ tsp. salt
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 lb. medium raw shrimp, thawed if frozen, shelled and deveined
¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese
¼ cup fresh chopped parsley

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1. Heat oil and garlic in saucepan. Add rice and sauté a few minutes. Pour in wine and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until absorbed.

2. Add hot chicken broth, oregano, and salt. Simmer, covered, for 18 minutes.

3. Stir in butter and shrimp and simmer, covered, another 8 minutes.

4. Stir in Parmesan cheese and parsley until cheese melts. Serve risotto with additional cheese, a green salad and/or steamed broccoli, crusty Italian bread, and white wine, if desired. Serves four.

Risotto with Sausage and Spinach

With the prep work done and the fixings assembled, risotto is fun to cook. Risotti make wonderful first courses or elegant one-dish meals. They can include meat, seafood, and/or vegetables. Ingredients are limited only by the cook's imagination. We are fortunate to have an Italian grocer here in New Hampshire who handmakes delicious Italian sausage, and I have added several risotto recipes to my repertoire to showcase it. This is one of my favorites.

RISOTTO with SAUSAGE and SPINACH

6 cups of chicken broth
10 oz. fresh spinach, stemmed, washed, and roughly chopped
¾ lb. mild Italian sausage (3-4), skins removed, roughly chopped
1 small onion or large shallot, minced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
5 Tbs. unsalted butter
2 cups arborio or carnaroli rice
1 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

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Simmering Risotto

1. Heat broth and keep simmering.

2. Melt 4 Tbs. of the butter in a deep, non-stick frying pan. Add onion and cook over medium heat about 5 minutes, until onion softens and starts to color. Stir in garlic and cook another minute. Add sausage, breaking into chunks and cooking until raw color is gone and meat is browned.

3. Add rice. Stir 1-2 minutes until coated well with butter and heated. Increase heat to medium-high. Add wine (set a timer to 18 minutes at this point) and stir casually until rice absorbs wine.

4. Add a generous ladle of broth, stirring occasionally until absorbed. Continue adding broth about a cup at a time, allowing liquid to be absorbed before adding more.

5. After about 10 minutes, stir in spinach. It will cook down quickly. After 18 minutes, taste rice for doneness. It should be al dente.

6. Remove pan from heat. Stir in remaining Tbs. of butter and cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with crusty bread and salad, if desired. 4-6 generous servings.

Risotto with Italian Sausage and Wild Mushrooms

When the mood for something special strikes, there's nothing like risotto. Madeira wine makes this one special. Elegant enough for company, down home and delicious enough for family, it's fun to make and a joy to serve. The evenings are growing cooler, so why not grab a bottle of Madeira and a package or three of those pre-sliced wild mushrooms the stores carry now and create this delicious dish?

RISOTTO with ITALIAN SAUSAGE and WILD MUSHROOMS

For the Sausage and Mushrooms:
2 Tbs. olive oil
1½ lbs. sweet Italian sausage (5-6 sausages)
8 oz. sliced Baby Bella or Crimini mushrooms
10 oz. sliced shiitake mushrooms
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried oregano
½ cup Madeira wine

For the Rice:
6-7 cups chicken broth
1 stick (½ cup) butter
1 large vidalia onion, chopped
4-5 large garlic cloves, minced
2 cups carnaroli or other arborio-type rice
1 cup Madeira wine
1 cup fresh chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese

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1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Remove sausages from casings and sauté in oil, breaking into bite-sized chunks. When sausage is nearly browned, fold in mushrooms with thyme and oregano. Cook, stirring, until mushrooms are tender and meat is browned, about 10 minutes. Add ½ cup Madeira wine and stir another minute. Remove skillet from heat and set aside. Reheat on low when ready to cook rice.

2. Simmer chicken broth in a 3-qt. saucepan. Melt butter in non-stick skillet and add onion. Sauté until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic. Add rice and stir to coat grains with butter mixture, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup Madeira wine and simmer, stirring, until nearly absorbed. Add a ladleful of hot chicken broth to wine and stir until nearly absorbed. Continue ladling broth into rice, stirring frequently, for 18 minutes. Rice should be firm but not crunchy and have a creamy consistency. Cook more if desired, but don’t over cook.

3. Stir sausage and mushroom mixture into rice. Season with salt and pepper. Add parsley and serve, passing cheese at the table. Serve with salad and crunchy bread. 6 generous servings.

Risotto with Shrimp, Green Beans, and Pesto Sauce

I had a great vegetarian soup planned for our writers' group last Monday night, but icy weather nixed our meeting, and I didn't want to make a huge pot of soup just for my husband and me. What do to with fresh French green beans, a bunch of basil, and a gorgeous chunk of Parmesan Reggiano? Sounded like risotto to me. I put a few recipes together and came up with something new and delicious. For a vegetarian delight, omit the shrimp and use vegetable broth.

Risotto is one of my favorite dishes to make, and I've made dozens of scrumptious variations of this classic Italian dish. Don't be put off by all the stirring. It's really quite soothing, and there's something great about starting to stir and announcing that no one can bother you for the next twenty minutes or so. If you've never made risotto, give this one a try, and keep an eye on Kitchen Excursions for some great risotto recipes!

RISOTTO with SHRIMP, GREEN BEANS, and PESTO SAUCE

Make the pesto sauce:

2-3 garlic cloves                        1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 cups of fresh basil                  Salt and pepper to taste

3 Tbs. pine nuts                         1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano

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Drop garlic into food processor and mince. Add basil, pine nuts, olive oil, and salt and pepper and process well, scraping down sides once or twice with a spatula. Add cheese and process into a creamy sauce. Empty into prep bowl and reserve.

For the Risotto:

½ lb. French green beans,          1¼ cups arborio rice                       

   trimmed and cut into thirds     ½ dry white wine

4½ cups chicken broth               1 lb. medium shrimp, cleaned

2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil          Salt and pepper to taste 

1 large shallot, minced

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1. Bring a pot of water to boil. Blanch green beans for 5 minutes and drain. Place in a bath of cold water and drain again.

2. Bring broth to a simmer, preferably on the burner right behind the nonstick skillet in which you'll make the risotto.

3. Heat the oil in the skillet over medium heat. Sauté shallot until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the rice, stirring until the grains are well coated with oil.

4. Increase heat to medium high. Add wine and stir until liquid is almost absorbed.  Using a ladle, add about 1 cup of broth to the skillet, stirring again until liquid is almost absorbed. Continue for 14 minutes, then add the shrimp. Continue stirring until shrimp is cooked and rice is al dente. Total cooking time 18-20 minutes.

5. Remove risotto from heat. Stir in green beans and pesto, adding enough of the remaining broth for a creamy consistency. Serve with crusty bread and extra cheese, if desired. Serves 4.