By now, you know that I love nothing more than cooking a meal for
my friends and family. Whenever we have guests coming over, I ask about dislikes,
preferences, diet restrictions, and allergies.
While sometimes I joke that I am “gluten intolerance intolerant,” I know that there are people who really cannot tolerate
gluten in any form. Or dairy. Or any number of other ingredients.
Heck – I, myself, can’t eat garlic. That usually sends most every
host or hostess into a panic. I think they would rather attempt a meal without gluten!
When someone has a dislike, an allergy, or a
dietary preference, I just want them to be honest and tell me. I am happy to
make them something that will make them happy. In the end, that’s what makes me happy.
Allergic to bivalves? I will do some research to make sure I know what is – or isn’t – a bivalve. Hate Brussels sprouts? No worries – I won’t make them for you and try to convince that mine are different (and that you will love them). If you want to avoid carbs to lose weight, I am happy to cook
with nary a carbohydrate in sight. Just tell me.
Recently, our friend Sara was going through a slew of dietary tests
to identify a problem she had been having. When we invited her to dinner she
balked, saying she didn’t want to have us deal with her long no-no list.
 |
| Thanks to Jennifer and Pat for the wonderful lobster & crab towels! |
I told her I would love the challenge. And this risotto is the
result. Never mind what is not in the recipe; the ingredients in it are delicious. I
can’t wait to make it again.
~ David
Risotto ai Frutti di Mare
6 cups shrimp or fish broth *
olive oil
6 large sea scallops, quartered
32 small-medium shrimp, fully peeled and deveined
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
2 lobster tails (optional), cut in half lengthwise.
1 large shallot, minced
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1 cup moscato (Chardonnay works well, too)
2 large plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon, or more to taste
finely grated zest of 1 organic lemon
Bring stock to a simmer on the back burner.
Heat a skillet over medium high and add 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Add the scallops and shrimp and sauté, stirring, until opaque. This will take
just a few minutes. Stir in the paprika and cook 30 seconds. Scrape seafood
into a bowl and set aside. Err on undercooking the seafood, as it will cook more
later. Do not clean the skillet.
If using the lobster tails, place the halves, cut side down, on
an oiled cookie sheet and broil for 4-5 minutes until the shells are bright
orange-red. Remove from the broiler and let cool. Once cool, carefully remove
the par-cooked meat in one piece and place in the skillet used for the shrimp and scallops; set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large kettle over medium heat.
Add shallot and cook until softened and clear. Add rice and increase heat to
medium-high. Sauté until rice is opaque but not browned. Add the moscato and
stir until reduced and spoon leaves a trail when dragged through the rice. Add
a ladleful (1/2 cup) of shrimp broth and continue stirring until, once again, liquid
is reduced and the spoon leaves a trail. Continue adding broth and stirring
until you have but 1/2 cup broth left. Add the tomatoes, tarragon, and lemon
zest.
Reheat the shellfish skillet to medium-high, drizzling the lobster tails with a little olive oil. Sauté the lobster tails for 1-2 minutes until done.
Add the scallops and shrimp to the risotto along with the final 1/2
cup broth. Continue stirring, but do not cook until the spoon leaves a trail.
You want the risotto to be al ondine – “to the wave” – when you serve it, as it
will thicken as it cools slightly upon serving.
Divide among four large flat bowls and top each portion with half
a lobster tail. Serve immediately.
Serves 4 as a main course. Alternatively, this quantity will
serve 8 as a first course – the lobster tails can be chopped and divided among
the 8 portions.
* Whenever I buy shrimp, I place all the uncooked shells in a re-sealable
bag and keep it in my freezer. In addition to the shrimp shells, I also add
pieces of shallot, onion, carrot, celery, and fennel. Then, when I need shrimp
stock, I fill a saucepan with these frozen shells and vegetables, and add
water, a little white wine, salt, peppercorns, a couple of bay leaves, and a
few sprigs of thyme, and then boil it down. Generally, if I need 4 cups of
broth, I add a couple of extra cups of liquid and reduce it to the 4 cups I
need. This ensures the concentration of the flavors. Simply strain and use as
needed.
Unknown
January 28, 2017 at 4:25 pmthis risotto looks great! And great is the idea to freeze uncooked shrimp shells. Thank you David!
Anna
Cocoa & Lavender
January 28, 2017 at 9:46 pmThank you, Anna! I think that saving shrimp shells may be one of my favorite tips ever learned!
Sippity Sup
January 28, 2017 at 6:00 pmFrom this gorgeous recipe I can't tell what her list of no-no's could be. It seems perfectly complete. GREG
Cocoa & Lavender
January 28, 2017 at 9:47 pmAside from gluten, it was a pretty long list – but, as you can see, Greg, no one suffered terribly.
Cheri Savory Spoon
January 28, 2017 at 6:54 pmHi David, What a thoughtful host you are, I completely understand when you say your happy to make something that makes someone else happy. I love that about cooking.
This dish is absolutely gorgeous in everyway. The shrimp and scallops look perfectly cooked. Well done!
Cocoa & Lavender
January 28, 2017 at 9:47 pmThanks, Cheri – I think as the comments come in, all my foodie friends will be saying the same thing: we just want to make our guests happy!
Marcelle
January 28, 2017 at 7:13 pmThe ingredients in this dish seem plenty flavorful as they are, can't imagine what could be added to it! Yes, I think all of us who love to cook live to make our guests happy with delicious treats 🙂 I know your friend just loved her delicious specialty risotto! 🙂
Cocoa & Lavender
January 28, 2017 at 9:48 pmAs I joked with Sara when we served it, "I miss the gluten!" (Just kidding…)
Caroline @ Pinch Me, I'm Eating!
January 28, 2017 at 8:53 pmThis dish looks amazing, especially with that lobster tail on top! You have very lucky dinner guests. Next time I'm in Tucson… *wink wink*
Cocoa & Lavender
January 28, 2017 at 9:48 pmCaroline – all you have to do is tell me when you and Mike are coming! We will make it happen!
Liz (Good Things)
January 28, 2017 at 11:23 pmA beautiful dish, David. As it happens, I have a few dozen of Australia's best scallops in my freezer. Thank you xx
Cocoa & Lavender
January 30, 2017 at 1:49 pmLucky you, Liz! Wish I was there with you and Peter to share them! 🙂
Velva
January 30, 2017 at 12:29 amThis is a beautiful dish. Love, love it. Thanks for sharing.
Velva
Cocoa & Lavender
January 30, 2017 at 1:49 pmThanks, Velva!
Anonymous
January 30, 2017 at 2:49 pmI have to admit that I stared and stared at the fourth photo trying to make it into some kind of squash. Duh! I guess I have never seen a lobster tail that color? Did I expect it to be red? NO, being so landlocked all my life the last time I saw a lobster (except in a tank at …Oh help, I can't remember the name of the ubiquitous chain restaurant, you know, with the "Cheddar Bay Biscuits?") was in the Keys in 1979…Or was it 77, or 78? Because I don't snorkel or dive I had to sit alone in the little rowboat while everyone else disappeared into the water. We were far enough out the I couldn't see the shore. They left me with a small nurse shark in a bucket and told me to keep it contained. There I sat, all alone with the giant sky, water, and that help….SHARK!!!! I didn't know that it was probably harmless. It was in a November, the year the Iran hostages were taken. When was that? Anyway, that dish looks so delicious!!!
Of course, everyone eventually popped out of the sea and had found some, I think they were called ROCK lobsters. Maybe I should write all that nonsense in little story for my new grandson!
Cocoa & Lavender
January 31, 2017 at 2:15 pmWhat a wonderful story, Caterina! I remember having rock lobsters in the Bahamas, and it is very different for the Homarus americanus that we got in New England. The nice part about rock lobsters is they don't have those huge pincer claws, which really hurt if employed around your finger… You should definitely collect stories like this for your grandson!
All That I'm Eating
January 30, 2017 at 4:00 pmWhat a beautiful dish.
Cocoa & Lavender
January 31, 2017 at 2:15 pmThanks, Caroline!
Gerlinde de Broekert
January 31, 2017 at 6:08 amThis risotto looks fabulous, especially with that lobster tail. I have many friends that either don't like or eat certain foods. Just like you I like to please them.
Cocoa & Lavender
January 31, 2017 at 2:16 pmMaybe we are lucky, Gerlinde, to want to make everybody happy. I know that culinary allergies and dislikes really send some host/esses into fits!
Karen (Back Road Journal)
February 2, 2017 at 9:46 pmA beautiful looking risotto David, I'm sure it was a hit.
Cocoa & Lavender
February 3, 2017 at 1:46 pmThanks, Karen – no complaints at the table!
Frank
February 4, 2017 at 1:54 pmThat risotto looks absolutely gorgeous!
On a less positive note, as someone like me who's been around the block, haven't you noticed that there are just a lot more people these days with allergies, food preferences and strong dislikes? Cooking for a crowd used to be so simple: just double or triple the recipe. Now I feel it's like walking through a mine field… !
Cocoa & Lavender
February 5, 2017 at 2:34 pmThanks, Frank.
And, yes, I have noticed it. I really don't mind when people have serious medical issues, but the pickiness and fad diets do make it hard ot put together a dinner. Maybe we should announce the menu when we send the dinner invitation? That way, people can accept or not depending on the food and their preferences!
John | heneedsfood
February 4, 2017 at 4:30 pmOk, we're sitting on a Lima-bound bus right now and I'm salivating incessantly. Geez, I wonder why?
Risotto, for a start. I haven't had a decent one in almost 6 months. And then there's the seafood you've used. Two of my favourites!
Cocoa & Lavender
February 5, 2017 at 2:35 pmWell, John, while you might not have had risotto for a while, you are having some incredible culinary adventures which are making ME salivate! So much fun following you and Dean…
Provence WineZine
February 5, 2017 at 3:39 pmI picked up a magazine in Marseille that, I swear, has this dish pictured in glossy color! Remarkably similar! I seem to have left it in the hotel…so I can't prove it, but what a coincidence….yours looks better! It's on my list to try! Lucky friends!
Cocoa & Lavender
February 5, 2017 at 4:17 pmWell, it is. A good combination and I can't imagine I am the only person who thought of it! And, as long as mine is prettier, I am fine with it! 🙂
Inger @ Art of Natural Living
February 6, 2017 at 4:32 amI completely agree with your approach David. I just consider it a creative challenge to cook for someone with dietary restrictions. I think I need to try your risotto–looks amazing!
Cocoa & Lavender
February 9, 2017 at 12:56 amI think you will like it, Inger – so flavorful and comforting on a winter's night!
Christina | Christina's Cucina
February 8, 2017 at 12:50 amYou are such a kind host, David! Have you ever seen the Venn diagram showing the world's worst dinner guest? It's the person in the center of the diagram who is allergic to nuts, gluten, dairy, seafood and is vegan, to boot! haha! It's pretty funny!
Your seafood risotto makes me want to make it for dinner tonight! How wonderful that you were able to make such a delicious dish with restrictions! Amazing! 🙂
Cocoa & Lavender
February 9, 2017 at 12:57 amI love the Venn diagram of the world's worst dinner guests!
No matter the restrictions, there is always a lot of good food to make and eat!
Valentina
February 23, 2017 at 3:55 amThis dish is chock full of incredibly delicious ingredients! I wouldn't be able to get enough! It's not missing a thing! And you are quite the superb host! I imagine your home exudes warmth.
Cocoa & Lavender
February 23, 2017 at 1:57 pmThat is so sweet, Valentina! Thank you!