We lived in Miami Beach for a couple of years when I was in the 7th and 8th grade. I remember the morning Mom and Dad told us we were moving to Florida. We lived in a small 2-bedroom house on Avalon Avenue in Charlotte, NC. It was only a few blocks from my Grandparents, Gracie and Speedy. For maybe the 10th or 11th time in our young lives, we were moving, and we were excited. BEACHES, are you kidding me! We’re going to live in Miami Beach! My brother and I were thinking, “hey, we’re going on permanent summer vacation!” Of course, it didn’t quite work out that way.
Before we moved, Dad invited some neighbors over and made this dish for everyone. He had several variations on it and I’m sharing the one I think I remember best. He also made this for John Hertz Jr. The son of the founder of Hertz Rental Cars. Mr. Hertz owned a huge mansion in Miami and hired my Dad away from the Fountainebleau Hotel because he had this dish at the hotel one night. Well, the old king of rental cars decided he would have the Chef at his house. That’s a whole ‘nother story.
I remember all the Oooo’s and Ahhhhh’s when Dad brought this dish to the table on a huge platter. It was heaped high and steaming. The presentation was awesome, and it smelled wonderful. Of course, the kitchen was a disaster, and my Mom didn’t join us right away. Dad always said that “Great Chefs don’t clean, they create!” My Mom always responded, “You might be a great Chef at the restaurant, but here, you’re just a damned cook. Clean up after yourself!” Of course, he didn’t, so Mom always did as much as she could before sitting down. She didn’t want to face all the pots, pans and dishes after a great meal. Sometimes she would wink at us, and whisper, “The mess is worth it. But don’t tell your Dad I said that.”
This recipe will serve 6 to 8 people, fewer if you eat like me!
Prep time: 30 minutes – 1 hour depending on the shrimp you buy
Cooking time: 40 – 60 minutes
Ingredients
1lb – shrimp, peeled, deveined, tailed
7C – chicken broth, maybe 7 1/2 C
2C – Arborio rice, must be constantly stirred when cooking.
1 1/2C – Parmesan cheese
1C – Italian parsley, chopped
1 – small, sweet onion, finely chopped
4 – garlic cloves, finely chopped or mined
8oz – tomato sauce or purée, canned, I prefer Cento.
1/2C – white wine, dry
Olive Oil – My favorite olive oil comes from The Natural Olive in Hickory, NC. It’s an awesome shop to visit. The aromas, when you walk in, will transport to you. If you can’t visit, they do ship. Check them out at www.naturalolivehickory.com
Butter
Salt
Pepper
Making The Magic
Start warming your broth in a pot, over low heat.
In a large pan add about 2T olive oil, heat to Medium. Drop in a 1T of butter, melt and swirl in the pan to mix the oil and the butter. Lay your shrimp in the pan and cook on one side then flip to the other, just getting the shrimp pink and cooked through. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and stir in about 5 to 6T of the tomato sauce. Enough to thoroughly coat the shrimp, not swimming in it. Lower the heat to warm and cover. Don’t want them to continue cooking, just keep them warm.
In a large sauté pan, pot or Dutch oven, melt 2T of butter at Medium heat. When the butter starts to sizzle, drop in the onions and the garlic. When the onions are soft and just start to brown up, add the rice. Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly (you might as well get used to stirring) making sure the rice is well coated.
Next, pour in the white wine. WHAT, you drank it already! Okay, get more, and pour in ½ C of dry white wine. Continue cooking the rice. Stir, stir, stir. Scrape the bottom of the pot to make sure nothing is sticking at this point. Reduce the heat a little and continue cooking until the wine is gone. NO, not by you drinking it!
When the last of the wine is absorbed and cooked into the rice, start ladling your heated broth into the pot. Continue stirring as you add one ladle at a time, letting the liquid almost disappear before you add the next one. Repeat, over and over again. This is a gradual process that is the essence of risotto’s creaminess and making its own sauce. The starches are slowly released with each ladle of broth and it slowly builds throughout the process. Stir, stir, stir. I know it’s hard, but you are given permission to use the other hand to pour yourself another glass of wine and enjoy. It’s a lot of work and it will take about 15 to 20 minutes. It’s like Tom Hanks says in the movie, A League of Their Own, “Baseball is supposed to be hard. If it was easy, everybody would do it.” Well, great Risotto is supposed to be hard…. You want a gentle simmer during this process, not a hard boil.
You may, or may not, add all the broth. Start sampling the rice after 10 or 12 minutes. It will be a little crunchy. Keep testing it and you’ll know the rice is done when its like porridge, gruel if you grew up in an orphanage, and a little bit chewy. When you reach that point, turn off the heat and have a sip of wine.
Right away (after the sip of wine) stir in the grated parmesan cheese and up to 3 or 4T of the remaining tomato sauce. Add a little bit at a time. If you add too much tomato sauce it will make your beautifully hand-crafted risotto soupy. Stop when you like the texture and the flavor. The tang of the tomato sauce will blend beautifully with the Parmesan. Stir in about half of your chopped parsley. Salt and pepper to taste.
Plate this dish right away. For a beautiful presentation, use a spatula or large serving spoon to create a spiral swirl in the plated risotto. Then, drizzle in a thin line, a small amount of the remaining tomato sauce in a spiral on top of the risotto. You can use a small pastry bag and tip to get the right effect. Top the risotto with your shrimp. Sprinkle everything with the remaining parsley.
Wines we love with this…
Wines have become a subjective thing when it comes to preferences and what dishes to pair them with. We tend to favor whites in the summer and reds in the winter, but we don’t restrict our choices because of the temperature. I like to imagine the flavors and acidity of the wines, compared to the same things in the dishes. That comes from experience, so thirty years ago I sort of followed the conventional wisdoms. My point is, drink what you like. Just enjoy it!
Riesling
Moscato (yes a sweet wine with dinner! It’s allowed!)
Chardonnay
Frascati
Rosé
Variations to keep it new….
If you make this so often that you need to do variations, you’ve got a lot of patience and love to share with your friends!
Scallops, sautéed in butter and black pepper are awesome with this dish. Don’t add the tomato sauce to the scallops when cooking.
Tilapia, sea bass or orange roughy is perfectly matched for this dish. Broiled, sautéed or grilled, definitely not fried. Do not add the tomato sauce to the fish when cooking.
If you feel like splurging, steamed lobster is incredible. It’s also very rich and the combination of the risotto Adriatica and lobster will leave you STUFFED! Tomato sauce added to the lobster is optional.
Buon Appetito miei cari!
Here’s a question – Is there a special dish or meal that triggers a favorite memory for you? What is it and when’s the last time you shared it with people you are close to?
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