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Ah risotto.... This creamy and delicious rice dish from Italy is truly comforting and always welcome. To make it requires a bit of patience and a small investment of time, but the results are definitely worth waiting for.
1,000 Foods To Eat Project
I am working my way through the foods that are listed in the book 1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die by Mimi Sheraton. This is called my 1,000 Foods to Eat Project.
In this book, the author Mimi Sheraton lists her choices for the 1,000 Foods of the World that you MUST try.
Risotto is listed as one of these 1,000 foods. This should come as no surprise to those that are familiar with risotto! This delicious rice dish is food #42 in my project!
A Little Bit About Arborio Rice
Several different varieties of rice can be used to make risotto. However, Arborio rice is most commonly used.
What's so special about Arborio rice? It is named after the town of Arborio in the Po Valley, located in Northern Italy. It is a short grain rice which is able to swell and absorb liquids when cooked.
Cooking this rice when making risotto requires adding a little bit of broth or stock at a time, and almost constant stirring. You are finished cooking the rice when it doesn't absorb any more liquid. At that point it should be slightly al dente (to the tooth) and creamy.
Furthermore, I learned that Italians have a term called "all'onda" when making risotto. This means "on the wave," "wavy," or "flowing in waves." So you are aiming for a flowing, creamy and fluid risotto.
This Wikipedia article on Risotto is so interesting. It includes a section on Italian regional varieties of risotto and I want to try them all!
Ingredients You Need For Easy Lobster Risotto
There are many varieties of risotto, even in addition to the Italian regional varieties. I wanted to try my hand at a very decadent dish, so decided upon Lobster Risotto.
This Lobster Risotto is great for anytime you desire a rich and luscious dish, and I would say it's perfect for Valentine's Day as well! 🙂
You can use lobster meat from lobster tails, but I decided to use this cooked and ready to eat lobster by SeaMazz that I found at my grocery store. Using this helped make this dish come together a bit easier.
Amazon also sells 8 oz of ready to eat lobster (similar to this) by Luke's Lobster. If you happen to use this one, just discard the seasoning packet that comes with it.
I used this Fish Broth by Ferrer as my broth of choice, however, you can substitute this with seafood stock if you like. Click here for an affordable Kitchen Basics brand sold on Amazon.
In addition to the main components of the risotto (Arborio rice, lobster, and broth) you will also need the following ingredients:
- Celery
- Carrot
- Shallot
- Garlic
- Butter
- White wine
- Parmesan cheese
- Italian parsley (optional garnish)
That's it! 🙂
The Method To Make This Easy Lobster Risotto
So creating this masterpiece in your kitchen is EASY, but as I mentioned at the beginning does require some patience because you will need to spend probably around 30 minutes stirring rice. BUT you WILL BE REWARDED! 🙂
I like to include carrots and a bit of celery for extra color. You begin making this risotto by softening the carrots and celery in a bit of butter.
You'll set the softened carrots and celery aside, and will then saute minced garlic and shallots for a couple of minutes. Next add the rice and stir in butter until all of the grains are coated with butter.
At that point, add some white wine to deglaze, and then begin adding broth a little at a time, stirring all the while. Once the broth you have added has been absorbed, then add some more until that has been absorbed, and so forth and so on.
Don't forget to keep stirring. 🙂
When the rice cannot absorb any more broth and you have achieved that creamy and slightly al dente texture you are just about finished cooking the rice. However, keep going for that all'onda texture (a bit flowy and wavy) if you want to achieve risotto perfection. 🙂
The next to last steps are to add the carrots and celery back in, along with some lovely grated parmesan cheese. Then season with salt and pepper to taste.
The last step is to add the luscious lobster! Now because we are using cooked lobster, you are only adding this until it is warmed through which should only take about a minute or so.
The Finished Dish, Ready For Your Enjoyment!
The finished Lobster Risotto is definitely worth waiting for! Here I garnished with some Italian parsley, and served roasted asparagus on the side.
We had some very happy tummies when we dined on this decadent meal!
Are you ready to give this a go? I hope so! Enjoy the incredible Italian rice dish called risotto, one of the 1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die!
Some Other Dishes You May Enjoy!
On the other end of the spectrum, here is a recipe for Pantry Mushroom Risotto. Very delicious and budget friendly, using items straight from your pantry!
Simple and Delicious Cacio e Pepe
If you'd like to come along on this food journey with me, please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food comfort zone! It's an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here. 🙂
Cheers!
Grace
Easy and Decadent Lobster Risotto
Ingredients
- 8 oz lobster cooked
- 1 cup Arborio rice
- 3 cups fish stock can also sub seafood stock; may require a bit more or less than 3 cups
- 1 stalk celery diced
- 2 carrots cut widthwise; use only the bottom ½ of each carrot because we want small pieces of carrot for this dish
- 1 shallot minced
- 5 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoon butter split
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup white wine
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- Italian parsley optional garnish
Instructions
- Heat up a large skillet to medium and add 1 tablespoon butter. When the butter starts to melt, add the cut up carrots. Cook stirring frequently for 5 minutes. Add the celery to the carrots, and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove both celery and carrots from the skillet and set aside.
- Add the additional tablespoon of butter (still on med heat) and add the garlic and shallot. Cook for around 2 minutes, and then add the Arborio rice. Stir for around a minute, and ensure that the grains of rice are coated with the butter. Then add the white wine to deglaze (stir and scrape up any brown bits from the pan at this time).
- Right after, start adding the fish broth or seafood stock about ½ cup at a time. Continuously stir until the rice has absorbed the liquid. Once it has, add more broth or stock (½ cup at a time) and continue this process until the rice is unable to absorb any more liquid. It took around 3 cups of broth for me, but you may need a little more or a little less.
- Add the cooked carrot and celery back in and stir to incorporate.
- Add Parmesan cheese, and stir to incorporate. Then add salt and pepper to taste. The rice should be creamy, al dente (a little bite to it), AND all'onda (a bit flowy) if you want risotto perfection. 🙂
- Last but not least, add the cooked lobster meat and stir. You only want to heat the lobster meat since it is already cooked, so you probably only need about a minute to heat it through. Garnish with Italian parsley if desired!
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