Seafood Risotto - a Taste Sensation!

THE DELICATE creamy texture of risotto is the perfect partner for the briny flavours of seafood such as fish, scallops, prawns, crabs, bugs, and so on. There is simply no end to the flavour combinations that you can make once you know how to make a basic risotto.

SCALLOP AND SALAD GREEN RISOTTO

An alternative to using salad greens is to poach fresh asparagus that has been cut into 4cm lengths with the rice as it cooks. Baby spinach leaves, Asian greens or any of the variety of lettuce leaves can be used in this risotto.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Bertolli extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 300g aborio rice
• 250mL white wine
• 2L fish or vegetable stock
• 500g scallops
• several handfuls of salad leaves, washed
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 50g freshly grated parmesan

Preparation

• Bring the stock to a gentle boil.

• Heat the olive oil over a medium heat in a large heavy based frypan. Add the onion and garlic, cooking until the onion has softened. Pour the rice into the pan and cook, stirring for a couple of minutes before adding the white wine. Stir until the rice has absorbed most of the wine.

• Stirring, add the stock, a half a cup at a time, ensuring that the rice has absorbed any previously added stock before adding more. Continue to add the stock, a little at a time, until the rice is nearly cooked.

• Add the scallops to the pan and stir gently. The delicious juices from the scallops blend with the creamy rice and add to the flavour of the risotto. Cook for a minute or two because the scallops will not require much cooking. Add the salad greens and cook for about a minute, until the greens are slightly wilted. Remove the pan from the heat and fold in the butter and parmesan.

Serve at once with a chilled glass or two of Montana Deutz. What a combination - what a taste sensation!

FISH RISOTTO

Use a firm fleshed fish for this risotto, because this prevents the fish from breaking apart.

Ingredients

• 500g fish, cubed
• flour, for coating the fish
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh lemongrass, white part only
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 300g aborio rice
• 1 cup white wine
• 4 cups fish or vegetable stock, simmering
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

• Place the fish cubes and flour into a plastic bag, seal and shake to coat the fish.

• Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a heavy based pan and cook the onion until softened. Add the rice to the pan and stir.

• Heat the remaining olive oil in a frying pan and cook the fish cubes until golden brown. Remove the fish from the pan and set to one side.

• Add the lemon grass and wine to the pan containing the rice. Gradually add the stock, a little at a time, as in the previous recipe, until the rice is nearly cooked. Gently stir in the cooked fish cubes and continue to cook until the rice is tender.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the parsley. Serve immediately.