Shrimp Risotto

Until very recently I'd never made risotto. I'd never even tasted risotto. And, to be perfectly honest, I'd never ever heard of risotto until I watched "Hell's Kitchen". Well, throw all those "never's" out the window!

Risotto has been on my To-Do list for a long time. This dish has a bad rap for being labor intensive and easy to screw up. I found that while, yes, you have to babysit the risotto while it's cooking, it's actually a pretty straight forward process. I see the potential for many other variations as well. Once the risotto is cooked, you could add pretty much any flavor combination you want.

Having never made or tasted risotto, I had no idea what I was aiming for. Hours spent watching the Food Channel drilled home the fact that I was looking for soft, chewy rice that was neither crunchy or mushy. That the risotto should be creamy, not sticky. I was pleased with the final results, it turned out to be creamy, cheesy goodness. The best part? We have plenty leftover, which means I'm going to make risotto cakes tonight. Yum!

Ingredients:

4 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp butter
1 shallot, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 & 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 lb large raw shrimp; peeled, deveined, and coarsely chopped
1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
3 tbsp fresh chives, chopped

Directions:

1. In a sauce pan, heat chicken broth over medium heat. When broth begins to boil, turn heat to low and keep warm.
2. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add shallot to pan, saute for 2-3 minutes. Add garlic, saute for 1 minute.
3. Add rice, salt, and pepper to the skillet. Stir to combine. Once butter has been completely absorbed by the rice, add wine to the pan. Continue to stir until wine has been completely absorbed. Add 1/2 cup of chicken broth to the pan, stirring constantly until chicken broth has been completely absorbed. Repeat with the rest of the broth, until the rice is soft and chewy, but not mushy. This will take 30-35 minutes.
4. Add shrimp, cheese, and chives to the pan. Stir until shrimp is cooked through, 2-3 minutes. Serve immediately.