Seafood Risotto

8 cups vegetable stock (see recipe below)

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp saffron

.8 pounds shrimp

1/2 pound clams

1/2 pound mussels

2 leeks

1 small onion

1 can diced tomatoes

3/4 cup white wine

2 lemons

1 bunch kale or arugula/spinach/kale mixture

1 cup mushrooms

4 cloves garlic

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

.8 pounds shrimp, deshelled (shells saved).  Place in plastic bag with juice of half lemon, drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper.  Let marinate overnight in fridge.

*note-1 tsp of salt is 275 mg sodium per cup

This can be made one night ahead of time!

About making a stock:

The way I make stock is simple-Every time I cook, I reserve my discarded veggie bits and place them in an airtight bag which I keep in my freezer!  I add the trimmings from onions, carrots, leeks, celery, and carrots.  Onion and garlic skins are a great addition.  Once I have a full bag in the freezer (I keep adding to it as the month progresses), I know it’s time to make a stock!  Typical stock ingredients: Onions, Carrots, and Celery! (Here is a link to a traditional http://allrecipes.com/recipe/basic-vegetable-stock/

 

 

 

For this stock:

Add your bag of saved stock ingredients to a large pot. Add shrimp shells to the mix.  Throw in one bay leaf.  Top with 8 cups (2 quarts) of water.  Allow water to boil, reduce to low, cover, and let cook for 1 hour.  Strain in mesh strainer and season final product with salt (to taste) and ½ tsp saffron.

Risotto:  In a small pan, heat up the stock, reserving 1 cup of broth for later use.In a separate, large skillet, sautee one chopped onion in 2 tbs olive oil.  When cooked, add 1.5 cups Arborio rice.  Cook 3 minutes until risotto begins to turn translucent around the edges.  Add 1/4 cup of white wine and stir until is has evaporated.

 Add one ladle of the warmed up broth to the risotto.  Stir until it is absorbed.  Keep adding broth, one scoop at a time until about 1/2 of the broth is gone.  (at this point, begin step 4, but don’t stop stirring your risotto and adding broth).

In a pan, heat olive oil.  Pat dry shrimp, cook until done (about 3 minutes) and remove from teh pan.  Drizzle with lemon juice.

In same pan, add oilive oil.  Sautee leeks until transluscent.  Add in garlic, tomatoes and ¼ cup white wine.  Cook until reduced.  Add in  mushrooms and add juice from ½ lemon.  Let cook 10 minutes.  Add greens and let cook 3 minutes.  Add back in shrimp and season a bit. Remove from heat.

Hopefully you haven’t neglected your risotto while you were cooking your vegetables!  This is a great time to have a skilled helper take over.  Continue stirring risotto until all of broth is gone, risotto has a creamy texture, and grains are soft.

When finished, remove from heat and add 1/4-1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese.  Season with salt and pepper.

When Risotto is nearly done, in a different skillet heat up the remaining 2 tbs of extra virgin olive oil over medium flame and add your clams and mussels. Hit it with 1/4 cup wine, 2 tbs leeks, and 1/2 cup broth cover with a lid.  Mussels will all cook in about 3-4 minutes, while clams will take about 5-6 minutes. Remove the mussels as they open and place them on top of the veggie mixture. Remove clams as they open as well.

Mix Veggie and Seafood together in the pan.

On each plate, place a scoop of risotto.  Place a heaping scoop of seafood mixture onto pile.