Risotto is a classic Italian dish worth having in a cookbook. This is actually not a dish, but a way of cooking. Because there are an infinite number of versions and recipes of risotto: with mussels, shrimps, mushrooms, meat and vegetables. Learn how to make seafood risotto in the article below.
Mussel Risotto Recipe
Seafood risotto is a great dinner for two. Do not forget to fill the glasses with white wine and light candles - a romantic dinner is ready! The list of ingredients required for making risotto with mussels includes:
- frozen mussels - 800 g;
- broth - 1 liter;
- large chopped onion - 1 pc.;
- olive oil - 4 tablespoons;
- rice - 250 g;
- dry white wine - 200 ml;
- cherry tomatoes - 6 pcs;
- juice of 1 lemon;
- grated cheese - 50 g;
- chopped parsley - 1 handful;
- pepper, salt.
The method of making risotto with mussels is as follows.
Defrost mussels, remove meat from shells, leave a few empty shells for decoration. Cook the broth. In a pan, heat two tablespoons of olive oil, add the meat of mussels and cook under the lid for 2-3 minutes. Remove them from the heat and put in another container.
In the same pan, warm two more tablespoons of olive oil and fry the onions in it. Add rice and fry it for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour white wine, reduce heat and mix until rice has absorbed the liquid. While stirring, add chopped tomatoes, and then begin to gradually pour the broth until it absorbs the whole rice.
3-4 minutes before the end of cooking the rice, add the mussels. Remove the dish from the heat. Before serving, pour risotto with a little lemon juice and then sprinkle with grated cheese. Place a portion of the mussels in the shells and add some greens (such as parsley). Risotto with mussels ready! Serve to the table.
Creamy pleasure
This recipe for mussel risotto in a creamy sauce is a bit more complicated than the previous one, however, the reward for your efforts will be a hearty dish that will amaze everyone who tries it! Required Products:
- 1/2 kg of mussels (fresh or frozen);
- 50 ml of dry white wine;
- 200 g of carrots;
- 1 medium onion, peeled and cut into small cubes;
- 200 ml of broth;
- 2 tablespoons of oil;
- 1/3 teaspoon of sea salt;
- 1/2 teaspoon of sugar;
- 50 ml cream 30%;
- freshly ground black pepper;
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley.
What to do?
Defrost mussels and rinse under running cold water, tear spars (threads protruding from the inside of the mollusks) and clean the sinks, rinse again. Put in a saucepan with wine, cover and simmer for 3-4 minutes at high temperature, or until they all open.
Open the lid and let them cool slightly. Mussels that have not opened should be discarded. Leave 1/4 of the mussels intact (along with the shells), remove the rest from the shells. Leave the broth out of the wine.
Peel the carrots, cut into 4 parts, then cut them into thin slices. Send it to a thick-bottomed stewpan along with onions, 1/4 cup broth, butter, salt and sugar. Stir and boil, cover and simmer over medium heat for 8 minutes, until the liquid evaporates, stirring occasionally.
Pour a decoction of mussels into a container with carrots. Add the remaining broth and cream. Boil and season with freshly ground pepper and possibly salt. Mix with mussels (both peeled and in shells) and with parsley. Boil the rice according to the previous recipe. Mix boiled cereal with seafood. Done! Be sure: reviews on the recipe for risotto with mussels in a creamy sauce will be extremely delighted. Real jam! Enjoy your meal.
Shrimp and Mussel Risotto Recipe
This recipe is one of many variations of risotto with seafood. Remember that it should not be a limitation of your imagination. Instead of shrimp and scallops, you can safely use squids, shellfish, or other favorite seafood. What foods are needed for shrimp and mussel risotto?
- Mussels in white wine - 1 pack.
- Tiger prawns - 1 pack.
- 1 onion.
- Garlic - 1 head.
- Dry white wine - 1 cup.
- Bouillon - 1 liter.
- Rice - 1 cup.
- Olive oil - 3 tablespoons.
- Sliced parsley - 2 tablespoons.
- Spices: salt, pepper.
How to cook risotto with mussels and shrimp?
In a saucepan, fry finely chopped onions and garlic in olive oil. Add rice, keep on fire until it becomes “glass”.
Pour the wine, cook for two minutes over low heat. Add hot broth and stir until rice has absorbed all the liquid. Rice should be soft but not overcooked.
Put mussels and shrimps on top of the rice: cover and cook for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the top with onions with garlic and parsley. Serve immediately.
How to cook risotto: culinary secrets
Below are tips on how to make the right risotto. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with them! Risotto is perfect for a quick lunch, as well as for a generous dinner for the whole family - in any case, it will be more pleasant to feed guests with a delicious dish.
Rice
As in any other dish, the basis is the key to success. No matter how you like it, cooking risotto without rice will not work, so you should pay special attention to the quality of cereals.
Do not use white, steamed rice in the form of long grains. The optimal rice for risotto has a short round or oval grain. After cooking, he should be able to al dente.
Prepare a hot broth
Before you start making risotto, prepare all the ingredients. First of all, the broth. Prepare it sooner or use cubes as an alternative. Whichever you choose, be sure to heat it before adding to rice, since adding cold broth to the cereal reduces the temperature and significantly slows down the cooking process. Please note that if you cook seafood risotto, then the broth should have a fishy taste.
Butter
In the process of making risotto, you repeatedly have to turn to the roasting technique. Which oil to use? Schools are different. Some are fried in butter, others in olive (but not extra virgin). If you care about the oil taste, use clarified oil or compromise and mix two types of oil (for example, peeled and olive or cream and olive).
Remember that ordinary oil burns very quickly. If adding oil to you is not critical, you can use rapeseed because it has a high combustion temperature. Remember that rice grains should be “glassy” rather than brown and burnt.
Wine
Theoretically, adding it is not necessary, but due to this product, the risotto acquires a characteristic deep taste and aroma. Do not save on wine!
Buy a good wine and remember that you can also serve it to the finished dish. In addition, in any case, you will not spend the whole bottle on risotto.
Some of the technology
Constant stirring of risotto is absolutely impractical. Thus, we only saturate the rice with air unnecessarily and cool it. We also risk simply crushing grains. However, moderate soft stirring is a completely different story. This is highly recommended because starch is more easily released when the grains rub against each other.