Lobster Risotto

Happy Monday and post Cinco de Mayo for those who celebrated!

It’s been a bit since my last post but I’ve a got a few good things up my sleeve that are on their way! This weekend I went out on a limb and tackled my first ever risotto.  I have to say I’ve been pretty hesitant to ever try to make it because of how much attention I’ve always hear it needs.  Lots of stirring and standing at the stove to monitor so you don’t over cook it.  But, I finally over came my fear and went for it and oh my did it turn out perfectly! I figured if I was going to make it I’d just go all-in, so all-in it was with some lobster! Our bowls were completely clean when we were done! The serving size is not quite what my boyfriend and I would say is equal to what we had, as we ate the entire thing that was supposed to be able to serve 4 people.  This is definitely not a self-created recipe and all rights to it go to a wonderful book I received at Christmas called Wine & Food a New Look at Flavor by Joshua Wesson.  It’s a great wine and food pairing book that you can find at Williams-Sonoma. Try out the recipe for yourself and let me know what you think! This is definitely something that will be a staple in my recipe box!

Ingredients: 

• 3 to 3 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped sweet or yellow onion
•  pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 1/4 cup rich white wine
• 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 lb cooked lobster meat, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup peeled, seeded and finely chopped tomato
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter

Directions: 

• Heat broth in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer, add salt to broth.
• In a large saucepan heat oil over medium-low heat.  Add the onion, red pepper flakes and saute until the onion is soft and turns translucent (about 4 min).  Add the rice and stir to coat with oil.  Cook for a bout 2-3 minutes.  The rice should start to turn opaque.  Pour in the white wine — the book recommends a rich white wine, something like a Sauvignon Blanc.  Add the lemon zest and juice and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes.
• Slowly add the broth to the rice mixture about 1/2 cup at a time.  This is when you need to stay at the stove and stir rice often. When the broth is almost completely absorbed by the rice, add another 1/2 cup broth and continue stirring often. This process should take about 20 minutes.  Keep about 1/2 – 1 cup of the broth and taste the rice to check for firmness.  The rice should be firm but not hard or crunchy and look creamy.  If it still tastes too hard, add remaining broth and continue to cook.
• When the rice is cooked through enough, stir in your lobster. You can use fresh lobster if you don’t mind splurging.  I used a container of lobster that you can find frozen.  It’s all tail meat already removed from the shells.  A little on the cheaper side, it’s just the same as buying crab meat but it’s kept frozen and still tastes just as good!

• Stir in the butter and tomato and adjust the taste as needed with salt, pepper and butter.
• Pour into bowls, serve and enjoy with a nice cool glass of white wine!