the italian way

I was on a no-carb diet for about six months (strictly for three months, the other three months I cheated with an occasional carbo indulgence).
So for me, eating carbs is like a special treat, like how we eat fruit cake once a year (usually around Christmas), I eat carbs almost as often.

During the three months when I cheated, I had recently moved to my new home in Prague and having lived apart from my husband for nearly three months while we slowly transitioned from London to Prague, I decided to indulge a little and make him a scallop and pea risotto. It was also to celebrate the fact that I finally found a small Italian deli not far from our new home that sold these wonderful delectable creatures - fresh. Fresh seafood in this country is so hard to come by. I used to think that London had a dismal offering of seafood compared to Australia, until I arrived in Prague that is.
So these scallops were definitely a treat, simply because they were fresh and because they aren't always readily available at that Italian deli. I think I got lucky that day.

This was a recipe I knocked up based on trial and error (more error than anything else). It's great served on a summer evening with a nice chilled glass of sauvignon blanc. You can be nice and split the scallops evenly among both servings, or in my case hoard them all. My poor husband got the scallop and pea risotto (minus the scallops).

carnaroli rice

the finished product - scallop and pea risotto with
parmigiano

scallop and pea risotto
created: 15 June 2011


[ingredients]:

• 1 cup carnaroli rice (you can also use arborio)
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 25g unsalted butter
• 2-3 tsp olive oil
• 6 large scallops (coral removed)
• 1/2 cup peas (the frozen variety is fine)
• 700ml liquid vegetable stock
• 75g parmigiano reggiano cheese
• salt
• black pepper
• a generous splash of white wine (sauvignon blanc or riesling)

 [method]:

• In a hot pan, add the olive oil and garlic and fry for a couple of minutes.
• Add the carnaroli rice and continue frying for another thirty seconds.
• Then add the peas and mix well.
• Add a generous splash of white wine (I usually use sauvignon blanc or riesling) and cook for a few minutes until the alcohol has been cooked out of the liquid.
• Add 1 ladle of vegetable stock and stir, allowing most of the stock to be absorbed into the rice before adding the next ladle of stock.
• Continue this process until the rice is cooked but with a firm bite (you may find that you have some leftover stock but it's better to have too much than not enough).
• In a separate pan, add some olive oil and wait until the oil is extremely hot.
• Place the scallops in the pan and cook on each side for a minute (depending on the size of your scallops)
• Season both sides of the scallop with salt and pepper (to taste).
• Once cooked, set the scallops aside.
• Before turning off the stove, add parmesan cheese and butter to the rice and gently stir through until the both the cheese and butter have melted and is incorporated into the rice (approx 1 minute or so). This gives the rice a level of richness and creaminess.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste
• To serve, ladle the risotto onto a plate and place the scallops on top of the rice. 
• To finish, grate some parmigiano cheese over the top.

Serves: 2


Preparation time: 5mins
Cooking time: 35mins