Seafood risotto is a dish that is a real find for those who want to surprise their households. This work of culinary art comes from Italy - it is in this country that it is prepared according to the classic recipe, which involves the use of seafood with cream. Next, we consider the main features of cooking this dish at home, as well as step-by-step instructions for creating such a unique dish.
Classic Seafood Risotto Recipe
According to the technology presented below, the dish in question is prepared in the best restaurants in the world. It should be noted that it will turn out juicy, fragrant and unusually tasty.
In order to cook a seafood risotto according to the classic recipe, you need to carefully chop half the head of a medium-sized onion, garlic clove and half a bunch of parsley (without stems). When the preparations are done, you need to carefully heat the large and deep pan, and then pour 3 tablespoons of olive oil into it. As soon as the oil is warmed up, chopped onion should be put on the roasting pan and, after a minute, put in the same garlic, as well as 80 g of pre-prepared dry rice (preferably use the Arborio variety), and fry the mass. As soon as the rice changes color, you need to add chopped parsley and 2/3 glasses of white wine to it. Pour alcohol in a very thin stream. After the wine is poured in, you need to mix the mass and, waiting for the moment when the alcohol evaporates, lower the prepared tiger shrimps (2 pcs.) Into the roasting pan, and pour half a glass of the finished fish broth. As soon as the mass is a little stewed, the remaining seafood should be added to it, among which it is desirable to use assorted seafood (about 100 g) and several peeled large oysters. After that, another half a glass of broth should be poured into the mass.
After the rice mass completely absorbs liquid, it is necessary to pour another half a glass of broth into it. The dish will be ready when the remaining liquid is completely absorbed - as a rule, this will take about 5 minutes.
After the dish is ready, it must be tasted and seasoned with salt, as well as ground pepper. In order for the taste of the finished risotto to be brighter, you can use a mixture of peppers.
As practice shows, a traditional risotto with seafood according to the classic recipe is cooked for about 20 minutes and no more than half an hour.
Risotto in a slow cooker
In order to prepare a seafood risotto in a multicooker according to the recipe presented here, you need to put 50 g of butter in small cooker cubes, cut into small cubes, as well as 300 g of thawed sea cocktail purchased in the store. These ingredients must be cooked for 10 minutes in the "Frying" or "Baking" mode, and then remove them from the bowl.
In the red-hot bowl of the multicooker, you must again put 50 g of butter and 200 g of finely chopped onions mixed with grated carrots (150 g). The components must be fried for 5 minutes, after which 300 g of dry rice should be poured into the bowl, and after 5 minutes, pour 150 ml of white dry wine. As soon as all the above manipulations are done, you should switch the cooking mode to "Extinguishing" and continue the process for another 10 minutes.
After the specified 10 minutes, the previously fried seafood, as well as 150 g of canned peas and corn, which must be separated from the brine in advance, must be placed in the bowl. The mass should be pepper and salt to taste, and then pour 750 ml of purified water (or fish broth) into it and, having installed the "Rice" (or "Pilaf") program, leave to stew with the lid closed for another 15 minutes, after which during the same time, the process must be continued in the "Heating" mode.
Seafood and Cream Risotto Recipe
Many fans of Italian cuisine prefer to eat risotto, cooked using not only seafood, but also cream, which give the dish a unique taste.
To prepare such a dish, you need to take 400 g of ready-made sea cocktail and dip it in boiling water for 5 minutes. After cooking, the product must be removed from the water and dried with a paper towel.
In a deep frying pan, you need to heat a quarter cup of olive oil, then put finely chopped shallots (50 g) on it and fry the product over low heat for three minutes. Next, add a glass of dry rice to the pan and continue the cooking process for another 5 minutes.
When the rice changes color, pour half a glass of dry white wine into the pan. Next, you need to wait for the moment when the alcohol evaporates, and gradually, 100 ml each pour 500 ml of fish broth into the pan. It should be remembered that before infusing each new portion, you should wait for the moment when the previous one is absorbed. At this stage of cooking risotto with seafood and cream according to the classic recipe, the contents of the pan must be constantly stirred so that it does not stick.
After the last portion of the broth is used, you need to pour a glass of cream, a prepared sea cocktail, ground pepper and salt to taste in a pan. Now the mass must be mixed and after 2-3 minutes removed from the heat.
Risotto in a creamy sauce
It should be noted that the recipe for seafood risotto in a creamy sauce is quite simple, but the cooking procedure requires some attention.
To create such a dish, you need to heat a pan with half a glass of olive oil. After that, it is necessary to lay on it a finely chopped onion and, waiting for it to become transparent, pour a glass of rice there. When the rice changes color, pour a glass of fish broth into the pan and, stirring the mass, wait for the moment when it completely absorbs the liquid. So, it is necessary to gradually add the broth until the moment when the mass begins to swell. As soon as this happens, you need to add 500 g of seafood to it (it is best to take a sea cocktail in the store), as well as the last glass of broth (in total, a little less than a liter of liquid will be required to prepare a dish from the indicated amount of ingredients).
The classic risotto recipe with seafood and cream recommends adding the creamy mass at the very end of the preparation when the rice is soft enough. 220 g of grated Parmesan and 60 g of butter should be invested in the indicated number of ingredients. At this stage, the desired amount of salt and ground pepper should also be added.
Features of the preparation of fish stock
In order to cook a delicious risotto, you must use pre-cooked and strained broth, cooked on the basis of fish. In order to cook it, it is necessary to use non-greasy seafood, but not very dry. Ready broth must be saturated. In the process of cooking, it is better not to salt and pepper - these operations will be performed with rice in the process of bringing the dish to a state of readiness.
Features of rice preparation
To cook risotto with seafood according to the classic recipe, you need to take only high-quality rice. It should be noted that to create the dish in question, this product must be dry. Its preliminary washing is strictly forbidden, otherwise, when cooked, cereal grains will stick together, which will spoil not only the appearance but also the taste of the dish, since starch will be washed off the product from contact with water.
To create a risotto you need to take a special rice. As stated in the recommendations of experienced cooks, to create the right dish, you can use rice of the following varieties: arborio, vialone nano, carnaroli, casa rinaldi, melotti, gallo, as well as watercolor. It should be noted that currently the most affordable for Russians is Arborio rice, which is imported into the country.
Is it possible to use plain rice to make risotto with seafood according to the recipes presented here? Yes, of course, but in this case it is advisable to take a round-grain variety of cereal, which is actively grown in the Krasnodar Territory.
How to fry rice?
It should be remembered that in the process of frying the rice in the pan there should be no liquid other than olive oil (no more than 3-3.5 tbsp per 100 g of rice). Experienced chefs recommend this action, constantly stirring the mass. During the roasting process, the fire should be medium, otherwise the cereal will burn. The roasting procedure must be continued until the product changes color.
What seafood to choose
What additional components can be used to prepare home-made seafood risotto recipes? Practice shows that for this purpose you can use any seafood that can only be found in the refrigerator - the main requirement for them is freshness.
As practice shows, most housewives prefer to use ready-made sea cocktails, which are sold in stores, and it should be noted that this is a pretty good choice. As for the preferences of Italian cooks, they use mussels, squids, lobsters, scallops, as well as shrimps, and for the most part tiger, to prepare such an original dish.
How to cook seafood?
In the process of preparing seafood, it should be remembered that it takes a little time to bring them to a state of readiness. You also do not need to pre-cook them, but this rule does not apply to lobsters.
The average duration of cooking seafood is not more than 4 minutes, however, as practice shows, for the smallest of them, only 50-60 seconds are enough. Some housewives prefer to cook them separately, and then add them to the finished rice, and some bring them to a state of readiness directly in the saucepan - in this case, it is necessary to carefully plan the time remaining until the rice is cooked.
About the features of the taste of the finished dish
How to make the ready risotto with seafood (recipes and photos of some dishes presented in the review) turned out to be very tender and soft in taste? Experienced chefs recommend using cream, butter or cheese for this - all of these components can significantly soften the taste of the finished dish, but remember that its consistency will become more viscous. These ingredients are not mandatory, therefore, the list of necessary are not always available.
In the finished risotto, rice should be slightly undercooked - its light hardness inside each grain of cereal is an indicator of a properly cooked dish.
About spices
Risotto is a dish that should not have a sharp taste. In order for it to turn out not to be cloying, you need to know the list of permissible spices that can be used for cooking.
In all standard and simplest seafood risotto recipes, only salt and ground pepper (or a mixture of them) should be used to create the dish. However, in reality this list is not final, because Italian chefs add other spices: lemon, cayenne and white pepper, thyme, marjoram. Moreover, this dish is ideally combined with garlic, but you need to add it in a small amount - no more than a clove in a whole pan (at the end of cooking, it is best to remove it).
Risotto Serving
Having considered several options for step-by-step recipes of seafood risotto and photos of the resulting dishes, you should decide how to properly serve this dish. Experienced culinary experts recommend doing this in shallow plates, which are previously desirable to heat, otherwise due to the contact of heat and cold, rice will start to stick to the dishes.
Before serving, it is necessary to decorate the finished dish with seafood taken from the general mass. As a rule, boiled mussels in halves of shells, as well as shrimps, are laid out on top of the risotto. In a small amount, you can use greens and thinly sliced lemon slices.