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By Wolfgang Puck, Tribune Media Services
Great risotto depends on using short-grained rice such as Arborio, the best-known risotto variety, or the
less familiar but equally good Carnaroli or Vialone Nano. You'll find Arborio in many supermarkets, and all
three are common to the shelves of Italian delis and gourmet shops. What sets them apart is their abundant
surface starch, which, while they cook to the desired chewy texture, dissolves and thickens the cooking liquid.
Apart from a little white wine to kick off the cooking, the main liquid in risotto is stock or broth. Restaurant chefs will usually use freshly made stock. For home cooking, though, just look for good organic store-bought broth, preferably with low sodium content. If you have some extra time, enrich its flavor beforehand by simmering it for half an hour or so with some chopped carrots, celery, onion, and a sprig of thyme.
Speaking of flavorings, authentic risottos also include a pinch of saffron, the exotic spice that gives it a brilliant yellow color and intoxicating perfume. Yes, it's expensive. But a little of those saffron threads, as they're called, goes a long way. It's a kitchen investment worth making.
Then there's the cooking. For the best results, stir diligently, adding broth bit by bit, a process that helps dissolve the surface starch and coaxes the rice to just the right tender but still slightly chewy texture.
Finally, be sure that everyone is ready to eat when the risotto is done, as the dish is best enjoyed freshly made. That's why quick-cooking shrimp are such a perfect topping, though you could also serve the risotto with grilled chicken breast or slowly braised meats like the veal osso bucco for which risotto is a traditional accompaniment.
Once you've made your first batch, you'll feel perfectly comfortable. And you'll have mastered a dish that you can enjoy again and again, from shrimp season well into the colder months of fall and winter.
Serves 2
Ingredients - Saffron Risotto with Shrimp
1 to 1-1/2 cups low sodium organic chicken broth, hot
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced shallots
1/2 cup Arborio rice
Pinch saffron threads
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt
Freshly ground white pepper
8 large fresh shrimp, peeled, deveined, and halved lengthwise
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Minced fresh parsley leaves, for garnish
Preparation - Saffron Risotto with Shrimp Recipe by Wolfgang Puck Recipe
In a small saucepan, bring the chicken broth to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to very low, cover, and keep hot.
Put 2 tablespoons each of the butter and olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the garlic and shallots and saute, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until soft but not yet browned, about 3 minutes.
Add the rice and saffron and saute, stirring, until the rice grains are well coated, about 1 minute. Add the wine and boil it, stirring continuously, until it has been almost completely absorbed by the rice, about 3 minutes.
Using a ladle, add about 1/2 cup of the hot broth to the rice. Still over medium heat, stir continuously until the broth has been absorbed and the rice looks almost dry, about 3 minutes. Add another ladleful and repeat the procedure, stirring after each addition until it has been absorbed, continuing just until most of the broth has been used and the rice is tender but still chewy, surrounded by a creamy but not runny sauce.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the remaining butter and the Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and white pepper and, if the risotto seems a little dry, stir in the last of the broth.
Immediately heat the remaining olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Season the shrimp with salt and white pepper and saute them until they turn white and firm, 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle them with lemon juice.
Spoon the risotto to form beds on 2 serving plates and arrange the shrimp attractively on top. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.
(c) 2008 WOLFGANG PUCK WORLDWIDE, INC. DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
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Wolfgang Puck's Kitchen by Wolfgang Puck
The world-renowned chef with an extraordinary passion for food now shares that passion in Wolfgang
Puck's Kitchen. Puck makes great cooking easier than you ever imagined. He reveals how to turn common ingredients into uncommon masterpieces. Each feature includes both an expert tip and an easy recipe-exactly what you need to transform your home cooking from acceptable to delectable. Moves with color photos.
About Wolfgang Puck
Wolfgang Puck, in the eyes of food lovers and experts alike, is one of the most famous chefs in America and arguably the world. He has spawned a culinary empire that includes a fine dining group of 12 internationally acclaimed restaurants in Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Santa Monica, Las Vegas, Chicago, San Francisco, Palo Alto, and Maui; an extensive catering & events business with bases in Hollywood and Chicago, famed as official caterer to the Governors Ball following the Oscars; as well as Wolfgang Puck Worldwide, Inc., a corporation that controls, licenses, and franchises the Wolfgang Puck brand in a wide variety of business activities, including casual Wolfgang Puck Cafes, fast-casual Wolfgang Puck Expresses, consumer packaged foods, cookware, book publishing, television, and the Internet.
For the first time, Puck shares his expert, easy-to-master approach to cooking in the newspaper arena through WOLFGANG PUCK?S KITCHEN, a newspaper column syndicated by Tribune Media Services.
The Austrian-born Puck began his formal training at age 14, inspired by his mother, Maria, a hotel chef. He left Europe for America in 1973 at the age of 24, having already worked in the master kitchens of three-star French restaurants. In 1975, Puck moved to Los Angeles, and soon was both chef and part-owner of Ma Maison. It quickly became a magnet for the rich and famous, with Puck as star attraction. Since then, he has changed the way Americans cook and eat by fusing formal French techniques and Asian and California influenced esthetics with the highest quality ingredients.
After the 1981 publication of the first of his five cookbooks, Puck, in partnership with designer Barbara Lazaroff, opened Spago. Located in West Hollywood on the Sunset Strip, it was an instant success and culinary phenomenon from its opening day in 1982. Although the original location closed in 2000, three years after the successful opening of Spago Beverly Hills, Spago Hollywood today is remembered internationally as a legendary haven for entertainment, political and social luminaries.
In 2000, Puck developed his own "Wolfgang Puck" television show, which began airing on the Food Network in January 2001. The show features Puck sharing his cooking expertise with a studio audience who joins him in his kitchen, along with field documentary segments in which he explores the vast and diverse world of food, from farms to artisan workshops to restaurants, and visits with such luminaries as Julia Child, Robert Mondavi and Paul Bocuse. "Wolfgang Puck" was awarded a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Service Show in 2002.
Puck also appears regularly on ABC's "Good Morning America," sharing his latest creations. He has been a guest on a multitude of other shows, including "The Late Show with David Letterman," "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "Entertainment Tonight," "ABC News with Peter Jennings," "CBS Evening News with Dan Rather," "Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher," "Frasier," and "The Simpsons." In 2001, the A&E Network featured Puck's life on its popular "Biography" series.
Puck and partner Barbara Lazaroff are actively involved in many philanthropic endeavors and charitable organizations, including their own Puck-Lazaroff Charitable Foundation, established in 1982, which supports the annual American Wine & Food Festival to benefit Meals-on-Wheels.
Puck lives in Beverly Hills. He and Barbara Lazaroff have two sons, Cameron and Byron.
(c) 2008 WOLFGANG PUCK WORLDWIDE, INC. DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
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