Summer Prawn Risotto
I’m not exaggerating when I say that this is one of my all time favourite meals. The zesty lemon goes so well with the white wine and slight spice from the chilli. This meal, to me, tastes like prawns pil pil, but in risotto form. The parmesan gives a lovely creamy texture and saltiness, without adding too many calories.
You can really use whatever vegetables you like in this risotto. I do like carrot as it adds a bit of colour, but green beans, broccolini or spinach would also be really tasty. Risotto requires a lot of stirring and love so this is not a recipe that you can just leave on the hob while you do other things. You will need to be standing and stirring for the guts of 40minutes (a good arm workout!).
This dish is fresh, summery and creamy and I guarantee you will love it. My boyfriend doesn’t really eat seafood either, and even he sang its praises. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
Ingredients (serves 3-4 )
200g arborio rice
1 onion finely diced
2 medium carrots finely diced
2 tbsp butter
70g parmesan cheese (grated or sliced)
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
250 ml white wine
250g jumbo prawns (defrosted & deveined with shell removed)
a handful or 2 of frozen peas
1 tsp chilli flakes
2 tsp fresh parsley
4 cloves of garlic (minced or chopped fine)
salt & pepper (to taste)
Juice of 2 lemons
Method
Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a skillet and once bubbling add the onion, garlic and carrot and sauté for about 5 minutes or until onion is turning translucent, season with a little bit of salt & pepper.
Once softened, add the rice and stir together for a minute.
Begin to slowly add your stock (about 100ml at a time). Each time the liquid is almost absorbed, add another 100ml or so. Once your stock is all absorbed do the same with the wine, leaving about 50ml. This process should take about 25 minutes or so. Make sure you are stirring the risotto regularly or the rice will stick to the pan otherwise.
Once all the stock and most of the wine is absorbed add your peas and cheese. Stir this all together and then turn off the heat and cover the risotto with a lid.
In a separate pan, melt your remaining tbsp of butter and add your chilli flakes and parsley.
Add the prawns to this pan in a single layer. Once starting to turn pink, give them a stir and add in your remaining drop of wine and the lemon juice.
Cook for a further 2-3 minutes or so or until the prawns are no longer translucent and have turned pink. Remove the prawns from the juice into a little bowl.
Pour the lovely lemon & wine sauce into your risotto and stir it all together, turning on the heat again. Add the prawns to the risotto, stir and serve immediately.
Calories per serving (if serving 4 people) is 538
