There is a time and a place for making risotto properly. There is something very soothing and meditative about the constant stirring and slow adding of hot stock while anticipating the comfort of the creamy, flavorful outcome. There is also a time for a quick risotto with no fuss or muss or stirring. Barbara Kafka wrote a whole cookbook about microwave cooking, which was a revelation to me the food snob, and her risotto recipe was a stand out which I have adapted and built upon for years. Is it the height of culinary excellence in risotti? No. Is it a close enough kissing cousin if I don't want to be chained to my stove, stirring maniacally for 30 minutes but want creamy, starchy comfort? Absolutely. Try it and see.
For this particular risotto I considered using homemade seafood stock to complement the shrimp, but I thought that it would be too strong and fishy a flavor and detract from the star of the show, which is supposed to be the rice. I therefore substituted green tea as the liquid and threw in some bonito flakes so as to add a bit of the flavor of the sea to the dish, in homage to "ochazuke" (a Japanese green tea, seaweed and rice comfort food which I actually still make for L. when he has a stomach ache).
Let the 20-minute comfort challenge begin...My time is below. What was yours?
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons + 1 tsp olive oil
1 shallot, peeled and chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 cup Arborio or Carnaroli rice
4 cups hot green tea
2 Tablespoons dry white wine
large pinch of saffron
dash of red pepper flakes
1 tsp bonito flakes, crushed between your fingers (optional)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup frozen peas
2 teaspoons chopped Italian parsley
xx shrimp
salt and pepper to taste
Heat the butter, 2 tablespoons of the oil, the rice, white wine and onion, uncovered, in a shallow microwave dish for 1 minute on your microwave's highest setting.
Stir well and add 2 cups of the tea, the bonito flakes and the saffron. Cook on the highest setting for 9 minutes.
While the rice is being zapped, make your salad and your salad dressing and chop the parsley.
Stir, add salt and pepper to taste as well as the rest of the stock, the still frozen green peas and cook for an additional 7-9 minutes, depending on your rice and microwave strength. You will know the risotto is done when the rice is creamy to taste yet still slightly firm at the center (the rice equivalent of al dente pasta) and the dish is slightly soupy but not brothy.
During this additional 7-9 minutes, heat the remaining teaspoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat, along with the crushed clove of garlic. Add the shrimp, the remaining wine and the dash of red pepper flakes and cook until the shrimp are pink and done. Set aside until needed. Remove garlic clove.
As soon as the rice is to your satisfaction, add the cheese, the shrimp and the chopped parsley and serve at once.
Here is the recipe that started it all.
19:48 (the rush to attain this time made me forget to take a photo before digging in.)