Shrimp and Lobster Risotto
Shrimp and Lobster risotto is a satisfying and delicious recipe that you can prepare and serve for a weeknight dinner, or as a main course for a special occasion or dinner party!
If you’re new to risotto, or have never cooked with it before, risotto is an Italian specialty very similar to rice, as it’s a short grain. It’s often a staple ingredient in recipes and foods in some of the northern regions of Italy, surpassing pasta as the preferred side or main ingredient for a meal. Risotto is cultivated in the Lombardy, Piedmonte, and Veneto regions of Italy, and was brought to Italy from the Far East starting as far back as the eleventh century.
Although it can be a bit time consuming to prepare, it’s a good, versatile, and economical kitchen ingredient. Available in many flavor choices, true Italian risotto is typically served creamy, but not runny, and cooked until it has the consistency of what Italians call all’onda, which translated means “with waves”. Risotto is often prepared with chopped and sautéd onions in butter, or maybe with a mixture of butter and oil. The flavor base that results usually determines how the rest of the recipe is structured. Risotto is often served as a side dish to many different main course meat dishes as a substitute for a rice or pasta. Its unique flavor (or flavors) and creamy consistency make it a favorite choice among sophisticated diners everywhere.
Today’s outstanding recipe is a gem from On The Eaten Path:
Total Time: 1 hour, 25 minutes Number of servings: 8
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 live lobster (1 to 1 ½ lbs.)
- 1 pound of shrimp deveined, and shells reserved for stoc
- 2 onions, 1 diced and the other quartered
- 2 ribs of celery, 1 diced and other quartered
- 1 carrot quartered
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 10 oz. cremini mushrooms, cut into chunk
- 2 cups arborio rice
- The zest of 1 lemon
- Minced parsley
- 4 quarts of water
- ¼ cup of butter
- ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- ½ cup of dry white wine
- ½ cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano
- Salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS:
1. Bring 2 cups of chicken stock to a boil in a large stockpot with a steamer basket. Place the lobster in the pot, head first and steam for 10 minutes. When the lobster is done, drop the lobster into a bowl full of ice water to stop the cooking.
2. Carefully remove the steamer basket. Add the quartered onion, quartered celery, carrots, bay leaves, and shrimp shells. Remove the meat from the lobster and chop the meat into large chunks. Add the shells to the stock pot and cover with remaining quart and a half of chicken stock and 4 quarts of water to bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Cover the pot and cook for at least an hour.
3. Season the shrimp with the tablespoon of olive oil, salt, pepper, 1 clove of the minced garlic, a pinch of the minced parsley and half of the lemon zest. Refrigerate the shrimp and lobster.
4. Strain the lobster and shrimp stock through a fine mesh strainer into a large sauce pot. Put the pot on a back burner and bring it to a simmer.
5. Melt the ¼ cup of butter in the ¼ cup of olive oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear the mushrooms until browned, stirring occasionally to make sure they are browned evenly. Add the diced onions and celery and sauté until softened. Season with salt and pepper. Add the garlic and arborio rice and stir until every grain is coated in butter and oil. Pour in the ½ cup of white wine and stir until absorbed. Add 1 cup of the simmering stock and stir until most of the liquid is absorbed. Continue to add the stock 1 cup at a time for 17 minutes.
6. At this point, the rice should be almost cooked through and very creamy. Taste the risotto and add salt and pepper if needed. Add the shrimp and cooked lobster and stir to combine. Add more stock if the rice gets too dry. Finally, once the shrimp are cooked through, add the Parmigiano-Reggiano, and the rest of the minced parsley and lemon zest. You should have at least an extra cup or two of stock left over.
If you use the shells from your lobster and shrimp, they’ll make the stock rich and full of flavor, so don’t discard them! It’ll permeate the entire dish with lobster and shrimp flavor.
And be sure to keep an eye on the risotto so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of your pot.
When you want to impress guests with your culinary skills, this is a great dish to serve. The richness of the lobster and shrimp combined with the creamy flavor of the risotto invite people to indulge and linger over every bite.
When you’re ready to try this amazing recipe out for yourself, place your order for fresh, live lobster and plump, juicy shrimp with Lobster Gram. We take pride in bringing our customers the freshest, tastiest seafood that’s fresh-caught from the North Atlantic waters of Biddeford, Maine.
And we’ll make sure your dining experience is an experience you’ll have fun with, because we deliver everything you need to make it a success — including sweet, fantastic desserts!
We can have everything packed, shipped, and delivered fresh from our shore to your door with no worries and no hassles! It’s our guarantee. So count on Lobster Gram for your next spectacular seafood dinner.