Seafood Risotto

Risotto with seafood is a variation on the famous Italian dish. For perfect results, follow our risotto recipe precisely and don’t get distracted from the cooking: it requires close attention and constant supervision. 

If you make this dish in smaller or larger portions, make sure that the seafood is twice as big as dried arborio or carnaroli rice.

To make 4 servings of rice with shrimp you need:

  • half a small onion
  • 1 large garlic clove
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 150g Arborio rice
  • 1 tbsp chopped parsley herbs
  • 120-150 ml dry white wine
  • 4 whole freshly cooked large prawns with head
  • 250g seafood such as sea cocktail mix
  • 10 fresh mussels
  • 350-400ml hot fish stock, preferably white fish stock
  • Salt and freshly ground white pepper and cayenne pepper 

1. Peel and chop the onion into small cubes. Chop the parsley. 

Crush the garlic clove with the wide side of a knife, holding the device by the tip and pressing down firmly on the handle.

2. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a heavy-based pan until the oil has a distinctive aroma. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the chopped onion and fry gently while stirring frequently.

Do not allow the onions to burn, frying them for 1 minute.

3. Add the crushed garlic clove – if you add the garlic chopped very finely, it will probably be overcooked. In this way, the risotto acquires the desired garlic flavour and the garlic can easily be removed afterwards. This technique is very common in Italian cuisine. 

Not finely chopped garlic, but crushed!

4. Stir in the dry rice for the risotto. Do not pre-wash the rice, which inevitably washes away some of the starch. The high starch content of arborio rice gives risotto a creamy texture. Rice should be heated with constant stirring until it changes color slightly. 

Each risotto kernel should turn translucent around the edge and remain white on the inside.

5. Add the parsley and immediately pour in the wine. Simmer until the strong aroma of alcohol has evaporated. By the way, dry wine creates an acidic environment and the seafood does not become “rubbery” during cooking. Also, the seafood is stewed in a very limited amount of liquid, which also prevents it from hardening.

Chop the parsley as finely as possible, taking care to remove the tough ends of the stalks.

6. Carefully place the prawns in the pan. Preheat, pour in a ladleful of hot stock and immediately add the seafood cocktail and the mussels. The broth should be poured in by ladles, in about 6-8 ladles. It’s impossible to predict exactly how much broth is needed beforehand – it depends on the rice. 

Don’t forget to check that the rice is ready from time to time, so that you don’t overcook the seafood.

7. Add the next spoonful of broth when the previous one has been absorbed. The rice should be stirred lightly from time to time to ensure even heating. 

The total cooking time until cooked through, counting from the moment the onions have been added, should not exceed 25 minutes.

8. Add the white pepper and salt to the risotto. By the way, you have to be very careful with the salt. The ingredients of the “seafood cocktail” are coated with the glaze and it is already salty. 

Remember that the broth can also have varying degrees of saltiness. Don’t over-salt it!

9. At the very end, add a little cayenne pepper to the rice. 

If it’s not added at the end, it will burn and make the rice bitter, not spicy.

10. Remove the mussels and large prawns from the risotto so that they do not break when kneading. Remove the garlic at the same time. Add 1 tbsp. olive oil. Stir vigorously and then divide the risotto among the plates. It is best to preheat the plates. The rice will stick to the plates if they are cold. Garnish the risotto with the reserved mussels and prawns. Serve the dish immediately.

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