Joyce, Fruits de Mer Risotto. Sounds delicious. But I don't see sea food in the Risotto dish in the picture.

What are some of the things he would not eat?

Have you purchased Risotto rice yet?

dcarch

He's a real meat and potatoes guy. Roast beef, meat loaf, etc. Not a veggie eater. Likes bread. So I was a bit surprised that he liked the risotto so much.

There was seafood in the risotto, but it was small pieces, and overall didn't have a "fishy" taste.

I have not purchased the rice yet, but was thinking arborio (?) rice would be appropriate. If I could get a basic risotto recipe...perhaps I could add some shrimp or scallops??

Thanks!

Here's a reasonable risotto recipe that you could use as a guide. You could leave out the tomatoes, as I do not see that in the dish you photographed. I do think you could just make a regular risotto recipe (with part clam juice) and then just add whatever seafood you want - I think scallops would be best. You have to be very careful not to overcook shrimp, but that is a good addition also. I would probably add crab meat, but that just happens to be my favorite. I would also not forget to add a small amount of minced Italian parsley at the end.

Lars

My DH had a similar dish when we were in Venice last year. He loved it! The fruit de mer was small scallops, clams, mussels and calamari. The risotto was done in a simple white wine sauce with lots of parmesan....yes I know the rule is no cheese with fish but there was parmesan in it and he loved it!

Here's a recipe, is this going to be a problem, it's all in French. LOL, I bet it's good.

This is from Cooks Illustrated and looks good.

For our seafood risotto recipe, we chose universally appealing shrimp, mild-tasting squid, and sweet, meaty scallops-small bay scallops were a perfect size. Chicken broth, even if diluted, overpowered the delicate flavor of the seafood so we chose instead to make a quick seafood broth by simmering the shrimp shells in a base of bottled clam juice and water, along with onion, carrot, peppercorns, bay leaves, and canned tomatoes. When it came to cooking the seafood for our seafood risotto, we found that stirring the shrimp, squid, and scallops into the risotto after it was fully cooked and allowing the mixture to stand, covered, off the heat resulted in flawlessly tender seafood every time.

In contrast to the other risotto recipes, tasters preferred this one cooked in the Venetian style called all'onda - literally, "wavy." The lyrical name simply means that the risotto is looser in texture - loose enough to be poured from the pot. Feel free to cook it to the consistency you prefer, but take into consideration that as the seafood cooks, it releases juices that will loosen the final texture of the risotto. We like whole small bay scallops in this dish, but you can substitute larger sea scallops, cut into 1/2-inch dice.

INGREDIENTS

Quick Seafood Broth
1 medium onion , unpeeled and quartered through the root end
1 medium carrot , cut into 2-inch lengths
10 black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
Shells from 1/2 pound of shrimp (see below)
2 cups bottled clam juice
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes , drained

Risotto
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion , diced fine
Salt
2 cups Arborio rice
Small pinch saffron threads
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 pound small shrimp (about 40 per pound), shells (including tails) removed and reserved
1/2 pound small bay scallops
1/2 pound squid , bodies cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rings, tentacles left whole
1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh basil leaves
Ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS
1. FOR THE BROTH: Combine all of the ingredients and 5 1/2 cups water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer into another saucepan, pushing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids and return the saucepan to the lowest possible heat to keep the broth warm.

2.FOR THE RISOTTO: Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat. Once the foaming subsides, add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is very soft and translucent, about 9 minutes. Add the rice and crumble the saffron threads with your fingers into the pot. Cook, stirring frequently, until the kernel edges are transparent, about 4 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring frequently, until the wine is completely absorbed by the rice, about 2 minutes. Add 3 cups warm broth and, stirring infrequently (about every 3 minutes), simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the bottom of the pan is dry, about 10 to 12 minutes.

3. Add more liquid, 1/2 cup at a time, as needed to keep the pan bottom from drying out (every 3 to 4 minutes); cook, stirring frequently, until the grains of rice are cooked through but still somewhat firm in the center, about 10 to 12 minutes. Vigorously stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter until melted, then gently fold in the shrimp, scallops, squid, and basil. Cover the pot and remove it from the heat. Let stand until the seafood is cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately in warmed shallow bowls.

***********************

I've made their risotto, using this much easier recipe and it's very good. I don't like rice, but I like this, and even the grandkids ate it.

Basic Risotto

When the rice is done, stir in a little extra liquid as the sauce will set up a bit when served. Use homemade chicken broth if you have it, instead of the water/canned broth combination.

INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
2 - 4 ounces pancetta, country ham, proscuitto, or other flavorful cured meat, minced
2 cups Arborio rice, or medium grain rice
Table salt
1 can low-sodium chicken broth, combined with 3 cups water
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, or grated Asiago, plus extra for passing

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat oil in a heavy pot, 10 to 12 inches in diameter. Add onions and ham; sauté, stirring occastionally, until onions soften, 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Stir in rice and 1 teaspoon salt or to taste. Add 3 cups of the broth/water mixture and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until pan bottom is dry when rice is pulled back with spoon, 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Add wine, stirring frequently until absorbed. Then add 1/2 cup of the broth/water mixture at a time, stirring constantly until each addition is absorbed; cook until rice is creamy but still somewhat firm in center (add more water in 1/2 cup increments if broth/water mixture runs out), 10 to 12 minutes longer.
4. Stir in cheese. Serve on a wide platter or individual plates with additional cheese passed separately.

Lars' suggestions of clam juice and crab meat are very good. It is trick with shrimps and scallops because nowadays most of them have been treated chemically and taste not too good.

You may want to cheat with a little beef or chicken broth, if he is not a big seafood eater.

Purists do not want cream in the Risotto, but you can decide based on what you know about your DH's preferences.

If he liked the one he had in Venice, he will like yours even more because a lot of times restaurant take shortcuts in the making of risotto.

I would suggest you take some arborio rice and cook with it to get a feel of the degree of firmness and creamy-ness of the Risotto you prefer. There are plenty of videos on youTube to show.

Don't be too overwhelmed. It is easier than you think. I have done all kinds of Risotto, including couscous Risotto, regular rice Risotto.

Let us know how it turn out.

dcarch

This post was edited by dcarch on Tue, Jan 15, 13 at 19:07

Wow! So many suggestions. Thank you so much! I'm going shopping tomorrow to buy the ingredients. I might try the basic recipe first to get a feel for it. I'll let you know how it goes!! :-)

Venice is the home of risotto so i bet it tasted wonderful. Just remember it's supposed to be quite soupy and don't skimp on the white wine - it's what gives the dish that particular flavour. Yum!

If you make risotto a lot, it's worthwhile to invest in a pressure cooker. Reason: with traditional risotto, you are having to add increments of stock/broth to the pan and stirring it until the broth is absorbed, then adding more, etc. until finished. In the pressure cooker, it's almost a 'dump-everything-in-the-pot-and-leave-it-alone' deal--you don't have to pay attention to it while cooking, and can pay attention to other dishes while the risotto is cooking.

Kuhn Rikon used to market a smallish pressure cooker as a risotto maker, but it was nothing more than a small PC.

I used to rarely make risotto because of the fussiness involved; with a PC it's a snap.

Here is a link that might be useful: pressure cooker risotto

I think that to get the proper, creamy texture you need to stir. A risotto only takes 20 minutes start to finish and you can still do other things between stirings........ you also need to taste the rice towards the end of cooking time to ensure you don't over or under cook it.
I would love to know which Italian aqpporoved of that recipe. Those ads always make me smile!

This is my "go to" recipe for shrimp risotto. You can certainly leave out the tomato and add scallops (or any other seafood you may choose). Good luck and I'm glad he found something he likes.

Alexa

Risotto with Shrimp
(Risotto con Gamberetti)
Saveur Magazine

SERVES 4

In 1996, actor Stanley Tucci wrote, codirected, and costarred in a movie called Big Night, about two Italian brothers struggling to keep their restaurant alive in a sleep New Jersey shore town. Tucci's inspiration came from his mother's Italian specialties�dishes like this one.

3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, and halved
lengthwise
1 small yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 cup arborio rice
1⁄2 cup dry white wine
1 tomato, peeled, seeded, and diced
3 cups Double-Rich Fish Stock or Chicken Stock, hot
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1⁄4 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano (optional)

1. Heat 2 tbsp. of the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and cook, stirring, until shrimp are almost done, about 1 minute. Remove shrimp with a slotted spoon and set aside.

2. Add remaining 1 tbsp. oil and reduce heat to medium-low. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions begin to soften, about 10 minutes.

3. Add rice, stirring to coat with oil. Add wine and tomatoes and cook, stirring, until rice absorbs all liquid, 2�3 minutes. Add hot stock 1 cup at a time. Continue cooking, stirring constantly and allowing rice to absorb all liquid before adding additional stock.

4. Add shrimp and cook, stirring, until rice is tender and risotto is creamy but not wet, about 5 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper. If desired, stir in parmigiano-reggiano.