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Yup, here they are again, all dressed up in new clothes!! We enjoyed the Blackened, Pan-Seared Shrimp from yesterday's post so much that I decided they needed another wardrobe! I served them yesterday as an appetizer, with a delicious Asian-inspired Marmalade Dipping Sauce, but today well, today they're taking on a bit of an Italian flare. I'm serving them with a wonderful Lemon Risotto, which is the perfect mellow palate for these flavorful shrimp.
If you've never "done" risotto, don't be afraid of it. It just takes a bit of tending to, not much you're in the kitchen anyway, so just keep an eye on it and give it an occasional stir. The results are spectacular for the small amount of effort; smooth, creamy,  rich, really unlike any rice you've ever tasted. There are a zillion different variations for risotto, but I chose a recipe for Lemon Risotto that I found on the Epicurious website - it looked like a winner and it was!
If you look at recipe books or online, most risotto recipes call for adding the additional ingredients to the rice before serving. I think it's much prettier to keep them separate so I piled fresh arugula and sweet peas on top before adding the caramelized shrimp. The results were not only delicious but pretty too. My chief taste tester declared that this was "crazy good". Try this Lemon Risotto with Blackened Shrimp yourself, you'll see exactly what he's talking about!
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Lemon Risotto with Blackened Shrimp
Ingredients
- 6-8 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
- 1 ½ tablespoons butter
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large shallots, finely chopped
- 2 cups arborio rice, arborio is a special rice used for risotto, don't try using any other type of rice, you will have inferior results - you can find arborio at most larger grocers
- ½ cup dry white wine at room temperature. Use a good quality wine, if you don't drink, you can purchase wine in small bottles - just the right amount for cooking. Don't use cooking wine, it's usually a poor quality wine and generally too salty. If you're adamant about not purchasing wine, just skip it. Your risotto will still be delicious.
- 1 cup freshly grated, good quality Parmesan cheese, not the kind in the green container!
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 4 teaspoons grated lemon peel
- 1 recipe Pan-Seared & Blackened Shrimp, see below
- 2 cups fresh arugula
- 1 cup tiny frozen peas, thawed and warmed
Instructions
- Bring broth to simmer in large saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat to low; cover to keep warm - this is an important part of making risotto, you don't want the broth to get cold, always keep it at a low simmer.
- Melt 1 ½ tablespoons butter with oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté until tender, about 6 minutes. Add rice; stir occasionally for about 30 seconds, no longer, you don't want it to brown. Reduce heat slightly and add wine; stir until evaporated, about 30 seconds.
- Add 1 ½ cups hot broth; simmer until absorbed, stirring occasionally to keep rice from sticking. Add remaining broth ½ cup at a time, allowing broth to be absorbed before adding more and stirring fairly frequently* until rice is creamy and tender, about 35 minutes. Take a taste occasionally, rice should look nice and creamy but still be slightly al-dente.
- Stir in Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Season risotto, if needed, with salt and pepper. Divided among 6 low bowls. Top with arugula and shrimp. Scatter with sweet peas. Sprinkle with more freshly shaved parmesan, if desired.
Notes
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Blackened Shrimp
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons granulated garlic
- 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 pound jumbo shrimp
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- For blackening rub, combine first seven ingredients and stir to thoroughly mix.
- Coat shrimp with spice/herb blackening rub. You'll have more rub than you need for this recipe. Save the extra for grilled chicken, pork or seafood.
- Combine butter and olive oil in a sauté pan. Heat over medium-high heat until hot and bubbly but not brown. Add shrimp and cook quickly, about 1-1 ½ minutes per side, until blackened in patches. Remove from pan and serve warm over Lemon Risotto.
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I have a few comments for Chris and Scott. I'll guess I'll preface that I'm not a cook and I've recently decided to be at the least, a vegetarian.
I'm also trying to stay away from using any cooking oil (as I'm finding out, this is one of my biggest challenges when cooking).
I had some blackened shrimp with rice at a restaurant this evening. When I came home I started searching for "blackened shrimp with rice". As I googled the term I came across your wonderful recipe. I'm just not sure what you mean by "heavy" large saucepan. How do you define "heavy" in cookware? Is there any other way to make the risotto and shrimp without using butter?
Thank you
Hi Jake, by "heavy" saucepan I mean one that has a decent about of weight such as a stainless steel or cast iron pan. When you're cooking with fairly high heat you want to be sure to use a pan that isn't made of thin metal as your food will burn and stick much easier.
When I read 'lemon risotto' I could literally taste the flavours in my mouth. It sounds almost like an Italian tribute to the paella. Yum!
this looks so fabulous - I have to say especially the blackened shrimp - and what a great combination! Fantastic recipe!
Mary x
Let's see...lemon risotto? Yes, please! Add shrimp, and it goes right over the top for me. I pinned this one to make very soon...lovely!!
I love blackened shrimp! And risotto! Perfect summer meal.
Your pan seared shrimp look so amazingly good in the photo with the peas and arugula on top of your lemon risotto-I'm dying over here,lol!
Yum...Looks so good! I like the idea of this marvelous shrimps carefully put on the delicate summer-y risotto. I am going to try the risotto!
What a fantastic meal. All the elements are well-thought out and it sounds delicious. This is one that I'll be attempting to duplicate. Have a wonderful day. Blessings...Mary
i've not eaten risotto but i know one day i will. Thanks for the tips given!
This is a very pretty dish and worthy of the fanciest shindigs. I would have to make a ton of this to satisfy my hungry crowd!
I have never made risotto, and I just need to. I love your recipe and I like that you kept the ingredients seperate.
The lemon risotto had to be a great compliment to the flavors of the shrimp.
Those shrimp look like the best I've ever seen, truly..mmmmmmmm. I could go on and on 🙂
For sure to try!
I think one would have to be a very good and patient cook to make this...like you!!! So when can you come over and make it for me?
I sure will try these shrimps and the risotto! It looks so good... and I love risotto sooooo much! It's all really tempting... I'm assuring you, it's going to be on our table in a couple of days!