Seafood Risotto

Sorry for the break in posting! I moved into a new apartment and had to get everything up and running before I could go back to cooking. I still don’t have everything set up (which is why my photos are a bit crummy). I now have a gas stove (woo hoo!) and a ton of storage for all my random kitchen gadgets!

On my first night of unpacking some kitchen stuff, I was able to make a favorite of mine for dinner: risotto! I adapted the recipe from a Cooking Light recipe and just fit it to my seafood tastes and what I could find.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 (10.5-ounce) can of white clam  sauce
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/3 cup chopped shallots
• 1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
• 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed
• the juice of 1 lemon
• 2/3 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 4 ounces medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 dozen clams
• 1 cup cooked mussel meat (or you can buy mussels and put in the same time as the clams)
• Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Add the chicken broth and the clam sauce to a medium pot and bring to a simmer, being careful not to boil it; you just want to keep it warm.

Melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for 2 minutes, or until tender. Stir frequently.

Add the rice and crushed saffron.

Cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

Add the lemon juice and cook for 15 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in 1/2 cup of the broth mixture and cook until the liquid is nearly absorbed, about 2 minutes. Stir frequently.

Continue to add the broth mixture 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently, until each portion of the broth is absorbed before adding the next.  This should take about 20 minutes, but may take longer. When you add the final 1/2 cup of the broth mixture to the risotto, stir in the tomatoes and cook for 1 minute.

Add the clams and cover; cook for 4 minutes. Add the shrimp, cover, and cook for an additional 4 minutes, or until the clams open and the shrimp is cooked.

Remove from heat and stir in the mussel meat. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

What’s so nice about this dish is you can take the general idea and adapt it however you see fit. The original recipe was for shrimp and scallops. You can add crab meat, white fish, or whatever else makes you happy.

I loved the bursts of tomato with the saffron risotto as well, it was really a nice touch!