I used to think that Risotto meant that you had to be standing in front of a cooking pot with Rice and stir continuously for 30 to 45 minutes…  So I never attempted to cook Risotto, that is, until I discovered the easy way to cook this dish, from Jeroen Meus, a Belgian chef.  You can find his recipe for Risotto with bacon and Brussels Sprouts here. I recommend both this and Jeroen’s recipe, and they are both easy to make.

Ok, let’s now focus on the risotto at hand:

Ingredients:

• 6 large King Prawns, per person
• 80 -100 gr. of Arborio Risotto Rice, per person
• The same volume of Rice in White wine and Chicken Stock – I usually take half a coffeecup of rice per person, and measure 1/2 coffeecup white wine and 1/2 cup Chicken Stock
• 1 Clove of Garlic, cleaned and diced finely
• 1 small Onion, cleaned and chopped finely
• Curry Powder
• Olive Oil, for cooking and marinating
• 1/2 lemon, freshly juiced
• Pepper & Salt to season

Method

Peel and de-vain the king prawns.  Mix a bit of olive oil with the curry powder in a bowl and add on the king prawns, to marinate.

Take a saucepan, and melt some butter on a medium heat.  Add on the onion and the garlic, and leave to cook till translucent.  Please cook for a few minutes only, as we want the onion to be translucent, not coloured.  Poor in the rice and stir in with the onion and the garlic mix.  Make sure that every grain of rice is coated in butter.

Now poor in the white wine and chicken stock and place a lid on the pot. Leave to simmer on a medium heat for 10 – 15 minutes or till all the stock and wine has been absorbed by the rice.  Taste if your rice is tender and creamy.  If at this point, your rice is not sufficiently soft or the mixture is dry, add a little more white wine and stock into the mix, and leave to simmer further.  Season to taste and set aside, but keep warm.

Take a saucepan and put on a high heat.  When your pan is hot, add on the shrimp with some of the marinade and cook 3 – 5 minutes on each side, till cooked through.

Fold gently into the risotto and squeeze over the juice of 1/2 lemon for a lemony touch. Serve straight away.