Showstopping Seafood Risotto
By Andrew Zimmern
On this special episode of Wild Game Kitchen, I demystify working with live sea urchin and scallops, demonstrating how to properly handle and prepare some of the ocean’s most precious ingredients. First, I’m making an elegant raw preparation, demonstrating how to expertly crack sea urchin and shuck live scallops for a showstopping appetizer (get the recipe). Then, I’m making seafood risotto over the open fire, with grilled spot prawns, scallops, and uni. Simple yet luxurious, it’s a perfect way to maximize these ingredients.
The scallops and sea urchin were shipped directly from the fishermen to my kitchen, it’s a super easy way to buy fresh seafood from anywhere in the U.S. Check out E-Fish and tell them I sent you!
Stream episodes of Wild Game Kitchen on Tastemade.
Grilled Scallop, Spot Prawn and Sea Urchin Risotto
Ingredients
- 10 cups fish broth
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons minced shallots
- 2 cups Arborio rice
- Several pinches dried Calabrian chile or crushed red chile flakes
- 2 cups room temperature light bodied Italian white wine (like pinot grigio)
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 cup grated aged Reggiano Parmesan
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 cup cooked and cooled fresh peas or fava beans
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper
- 1 pound head-on spot prawns, deveined
- 1 tablespoon minced parsley, plus more for garnish
- 8 scallops
- 250g (one traditional urchin tray) freshly shucked sea urchin
- Cut lemons, for serving
Instructions
In a saucepan, bring the fish broth to a simmer and maintain at a low simmer to cook the dish.
Place the oil in a very large saute pan with straight sides of at least 3 inches in height over medium heat.
Add the shallots and saute until glassy.
Add the rice, stir and slowly cook for a few minutes to coat the rice and warm them very well. Don’t toast the rice, pull up short of that. Add the chile flakes.
Add the white wine, and stir, letting the wine evaporate as it cooks and to absorb evenly into the rice. Lower heat to maintain a simmer. Stir in the lemon zest.
When the wine is almost all the way evaporated, add 3 cups of the hot stock. Stir well and make sure you are lightly simmering, stirring every 90 seconds or so.
When the liquid almost all the way evaporated, add 3 more cups of the hot stock. Stir well and make sure you are lightly simmering, stirring every 60 seconds or so. Taste the rice after the liquid has evaporated for the most part. You don’t want any crunch, but you don’t want mushy rice. Keep adding one cup of stock at a time, stirring until the rice is barely tender.
Once barely tender, stir in one more cup of stock. Pull from heat and add the cheese, butter and fava beans, stirring to combine. Season with salt and ground white pepper.
Meanwhile, season the prawns with olive oil and parsley. Grill the prawns over medium high heat, for 60 seconds, then flip and cook for another 30 seconds. Set aside.
Coat the scallops with olive oil. Grill the scallops over medium-high heat for 30 seconds and set aside.
Taste the rice for seasoning and remember, risotto shouldn’t be dense, it should be served alla’onda as the Italians say. You should see its creaminess and the sauce. It should spread across a plate, not in a runny or liquid-y way, but the way hot lava creeps across the land. If you need to stir in some more stock, go ahead, just don’t make soupy rice.
Divide the rice into warm bowls or onto warm plates. Divide the scallops, prawns and sea urchin on top of the rice. Garnish with minced parsley, and some lemons. Serve immediately.
