Friday Food for Thought—Jumbo Shrimp Risotto

This month I’ve decided to offer up some of my one-pot wonders. I enjoy cooking I don’t care for the clean-up, so the fewer pots the better! This recipe for jumbo shrimp risotto is quick to make and it's one that my husband and I always enjoy.

Jumbo Shrimp Risotto

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1–2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
3 1/2 cups hot chicken or vegetable stock, divided
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup of peas (if frozen, thaw before adding)
1–2 cups fresh spinach, finely sliced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
12 jumbo shrimp

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium low heat and saute the onions for several minutes until translucent. Add the minced garlic, grated lemon rind and salt and cook for another minute or two, stirring constantly so the garlic doesn’t burn.

Stir in the arborio rice. You could probably use regular long-grained white rice, although the consistency and texture will be quite different. Arborio rice seems to have more starch. I buy it at my regular grocery store, but it’s also available in European specialty food stores.

Stir in 3 cups of the hot stock (reserving 1/2 a cup) and the white wine. If I don’t have white wine on hand, I replace it with water or more stock plus 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar.

Bring this to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and pop the cover on the skillet. Cook for 20 minutes, but be sure to give the risotto a good stir every five minutes or so to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the skillet.

Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup of stock as well as the spinach and peas and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Sometimes I replace the frozen peas with sugar snap peas. Stir in the lemon juice.

Arrange the jumbo shrimp on top of the risotto, cover, and cook for another minute until the shrimp are heated through. You can also mix them in but the effect isn’t nearly as nice. I usually buy pre-cooked shrimp because they only need to be heated through before serving. You could use small shrimp, either frozen or canned, and those could be stirred in before serving. The canned variety are quite salty, so I recommend rinsing them under cold running water and draining them well.

Serve the risotto with wedges of lemon. Absolutely delicious!

Since this dish already contains legumes and leafy greens, I usually don’t bother with a side salad, but you could!

Bon appetit!

Until next time,
Lee