I personally love risotto, i have been trying to come up with a few west coast versions of some European classic’s. While out walking my dog Sandy and Poppy my daughter picking up every stone, pebble and seaweed she can find on the beach I saw some people out seaching for the great British brown shrimp, this got me thinking so I went over to talk to the fishermen and they said i could by some local Siloth Potted brown shrimp just in town in the fishmongers. When i got home i created this risotto dish which i think really works with the shrimp as you would stir butter into the dish when cooked to enrich it so why not use butter that is packed full of those tasty little morsels.
Ingredients
2 pots of potted brown shrimps from your local coast
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 large white onion
3 garlic cloves
850ml vegetable stock
1 glass of dry white wine
320g risotto rice
1 lemon juice and zest
Method
1. add the olive oil to a large pan, Stir in the garlic and onion, season with salt and pepper. Leave to sweat over a low heat.
2. Meanwhile, pour the stock into another saucepan and bring to a simmer, or if you are using cubes just boil the kettle and use it hot
3. Add the rice to the pan with the garlic and onions and stir well, making sure the grains are coated evenly with the butter and oil. Lightly fry for 1 minute.
4. Slowly add the wine bit by bit, allowing the rice to absorb each addition before adding more.
5. When all of the wine has been absorbed, add a ladleful of the simmering stock. Allow the rice to absorb the liquid, stirring constantly, before adding another ladleful. Repeat until the rice has become al dente and the risotto is creamy and thick, about 20 minutes. (You may not need to use all of the stock.)
6. Taste the rice you’ll know when it is cooked as the rice should not have a chalky texture in your mouth, Stir in the saffron, potted shrimps and chives, stir it through so the shrimp are even through the rice and serve with a nice big squeeze of lemon.
