We made risotto to pair with our pan seared scallops and it turned out to be a great combination! Risotto is an Italian rice dish and is traditionally known to be cooked with saffron, butter, onions, white wine, and parmesan cheese. You will need Arborio rice for this recipe and it can be found at WholeFoods. The texture of this rice is supposed to be "al dente", meaning it is slightly firm to the bite. I guess this is why it pairs well with soft bouncy scallops. This recipe was adapted from Allrecipes.
INGREDIENTS
6 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
0.5 cup of heavy cream
olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 pound of portobello mushrooms sliced
1 small yellow onion diced
Saffron threads (optional)
1.5 cups Arborio rice
0.5 cup dry white wine
salt and pepper to taste
chives or cilantro or parsley finely chopped as topping to taste
freshly grated parmesan cheese as topping to taste
RECIPE
In large saucepan, sauté the mushrooms with some olive oil. Cook for a few minutes until mushrooms are soft and then set aside.
In large skillet, add 2 tablespoons of butter and sauté diced onions until slightly golden. Then add the arborio rice and white wine. Continue stirring until wine is absorbed, then add 1/2 cup of broth to the rice. Then add mushrooms to the skillet and keep stirring. Once liquid is absorbed, add 1/2 cup of heavy cream and a pinch of saffron threads.
Continue stirring and keep adding 1/2 cup of broth at a time once all liquid is absorbed. Once you find the rice to be slightly firm in texture (al dente), that means it is done.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Remove from heat and top with your choice of chives/parsley/cilantro and freshly grated parmesan cheese
CONCLUSION
Just keep stirring stirring stirring! The survival rate of this dish depends on the continuous stirring to the finish line! The rice should be slightly firm, but definitely not hard in the center of the grain. It usually takes about 20 minutes to get the perfect al dente texture. If you want another serving of vegetables, we have seen some people add green peas to their risotto. You can mold the risotto into a small ramekin/bowl and then flip it onto the serving plate to get that beautiful dome shape like in restaurants. The number of aprons we decided to give this recipe is....
