Fun With Cans - Pea and Shrimp Risotto

So here's a risotto recipe, just in time, while New York is still enjoying some glorious spring weather. In a few weeks summer will be here and the city will become the hellhole I know it to be in July through August.  Standing in front of a pot of something boiling will be inconceivable. For now though, a bowl of something warm and filling is still appreciated on some evenings.

Even though I grew up eating plenty of fish, I've never been very confident cooking it. It sees that fresh fish always requires a more delicate hand than I am willing to extend. Preserved seafood however- smoked mackarel, salted roe, canned salmon and tuna, etc, while often not really in need of cooking, is something I love incorporating into meals.

It can be as simple as having some anchovy filets to add to Pasta Puttanesca. My mother made an awesome, Russian-style, mayo-heavy rice salad with canned salmon. I loved Alton Brown's ode to the sardine with his sardine-avocado sandwich. Once I got sick of that, I simply started breaking up the fish and using it as a sort of sauce with past (just add some red onion or capers, something to brighten up the lot).

Now, stinky, oily fish might not be for everyone (everyone is missing out!). Did you know though, that for just one easy payment of a couple of bucks, you too can be the proud owner of a can of wild small shrimp. These little buggers are minuscule, apparently caught in the Pacific Northwest, and are a really nice, low fat protein boost. Not at all oily, but rather packed up in water, they're a great intro to canned, preserved fish and a nice change up from your regular ol' can of tuna.

In this risotto, I paired the shrimp with frozen peas, and even though we're talking about ingredients that are preserved (the good kind - canned and frozen), their sweetness gives the risotto a fresh, spring-like quality. The hit of wine in the beginning and the Parmesan at the end add some acidity and grounding saltiness to balance things out.

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In preparation for making my first risotto, I turned to Lidia Bastianich. She is my go to for Italian food due to her approachable tone and no bullshit food preparation. (The lady wields butter without shame and has the decency to scrape out all remaining dough from the mixing bowl to the pan. Respect.)

Besides the obligatory reminder to slowly add in the liquid, one ladle at a time, and waiting for most of it to absorb before adding more, I'd add that toasting the rice in the beginning seems to be a major step, prepping the rice, and ensuring that it doesn't disintegrate into a mushy mess.

Clearly the below can be made with fresh peas and fresh shrimp. Towards the end, add the raw shrimp (cut into pieces if large) to the risotto and allow to cook through, add peas when the shrimp are pink and cook for just a minute more.

Lastly onto the matter of stock - for a mild risotto like this, a vegetable, seafood or light chicken broth should be used. I once read that you should keep the tough asparagus stalks that you cut off for vegetable stock. I busted out a large freezer bag of these and cooked them with an onion for a very mild stock that worked very well with this. Bonus - I felt mighty thrifty!



Pea and Shrimp Risotto

1 cup of Aborino rice
1 qt of mild vegetable, seafood or chicken stock
1/2 cup or so of white wine
1 cup of frozen peas
1 can of shrimp
1 tablespoon of butter (or a tad more, if you're me)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan

• Prep by heating up all of the stock in a saucepan at the back of the stove. Once boiling, lower the flame and keep the stock simmering. If you find that your stock is running low at any point in the cooking process, just add some water to your stock pot and bring it back to a boil. 
• Measure out a cup of peas from the bag and leave to defrost slightly on the countertop. 
• Open up the can of shrimp.
• Heat some olive oil in a large heavy pan and add the rice, reduce the burner to a medium heat. Stir the rice so that all the grains are coated in olive oil and toast the rice for 3-4 minutes. Keep stirring periodically and watch that the grains don't brown significantly.
• Add the wine - careful - the liquid will splutter. Wait until all the wine is absorbed and add a laddleful (or a cup) of the hot stock to your rice pot. Once again, wait for most of the liquid to be absorbed in the rice before adding another cup worth into your pan. Stir periodically. Repeat for about 20 minutes or so. During one of the additions of stock, carefully drain out the liquid from your can of shrimp into the pot. That's a hit of shrimp stock right there!
• Taste the rice towards the end. It should still have some firmness to it, but be fully cooked. Watch out for raw centers.
• Salt to taste now, you might not need to, depending on the saltiness of your stock liquid. Remember, you're still going to add some salty Parmesan.
• Stir in the peas to the pot and cook for a minute or two. Add the shrimp.
• Check the risotto now. Is it moist enough? If not, add a bit more liquid. 
• Take the pan off the heat and add your dairy products - the butter and Parmesean. These will make the risotto even more creamy.
• Taste for seasonings and you're done! Serve right away.