This Spanish Style Seafood Risotto is rich, creamy and full of Spanish flavors and fresh seafood, the perfect meal for any night of the week!
What is risotto
Risotto is a creamy Italian dish that's almost like a mac and cheese made with rice. Risotto is cooked slowly by adding 1 cup of liquid at a time, unlike other rice dishes. The slow cooking process allows the rice to release its starches, which results in a creamy and rich sauce.
How to cook this seafood risotto
You will need two saucepans for this recipe, one small and one large, such as a Dutch oven. The key to risotto is adding broth to the rice in small increments. However, only add warm broth to the rice in order to ensure you get the perfect texture. Bring the broth to a boil in a small saucepan, then turn it down to simmer so it stays warm.
Begin by cooking the onion in olive oil and butter until it has softened.
While the onion is you cooking, you can prepare the seafood by seasoning it with salt, black pepper and paprika.
Once the onion is fragrant and translucent, add the garlic and rice to the pan. Toasting the rice before adding liquid brings additional flavor to the dish.
Next, deglaze the pan with a dry white wine and cook until the liquid is completely absorbed. This step is optional.
In a traditional risotto recipe, you will begin adding the broth here. However, since this recipe uses a can of diced tomatoes, this is when you will add them, along with the spices to the pan.
Once the liquid from the tomatoes has been absorbed, begin adding the broth, one ladle at a time. Stir continuously until no liquid remains. Then you will repeat this step until you have used all the broth and the rice is soft but al dente.
While the rice is cooking, you will cook the seafood. I cooked the fish and scallops in a sauté pan with a little bit of oil for about 4-5 minutes. Optionally, you can cook the seafood with the rice, after all the broth has been absorbed.
When the rice is done, turn off heat, add parmesan cheese and seafood, serve and enjoy!
Ingredient Notes
- Broth- you can use chicken, vegetable or seafood broth for this recipe
- White wine- you want a dry white wine that isn't too sweet, such as a Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio or Pinot Gris
- Seafood- you can use any of your favorite seafood in this recipe. I recommend white fish, shrimp, scallops, lobster, mussels and clams
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If you make this recipe, comment below and tag me on Instagram! xo, Sarah
Spanish Style Seafood Risotto
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1-2 tablespoon grass fed butter
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 cups chicken, vegetable or seafood broth
- 1 cup arborio rice
- ½ cup dry white wine optional
- 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- salt and black pepper to taste
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne optional for spice
- ¼ cup fresh basil chopped
- ¼ cup parmesan
- 1 pound scallops
- ½ pound white fish cut into bite size pieces
- shrimp, lobster, clams or mussels optional
- 2 teaspoons paprika
Instructions
- Bring broth to a boil in a small saucepan, then turn the heat to low and keep it at a simmer.
- Heat olive oil and butter in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until it is translucent.
- In the meantime, season the seafood with salt, pepper, and paprika.
- Add garlic to the pan with the onion and cook for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
- Next, add the arborio rice to the onion mixture and toast it for about 2 minutes. Add the wine, if using, and cook until it is absorbed, about 4 minutes. Pour in the can of diced tomatoes and cook, stirring, until liquid has been absorbed.
- Add salt, pepper, turmeric and cayenne to the pan and stir to combine.
- Using a ladle, add approximately 1 cup of broth to the rice and cook, stirring continuously until all of the broth has been absorbed.
- In the meantime, heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a sauté pan. Next, add seafood to the pan and cook until almost done, about 5 minutes
- Repeat Step 7 until you have used all of the broth. Turn off the heat, add basil and parmesan to the pan and mix until combined. Stir in the seafood, serve and top with more parmesan cheese, if desired. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Trish Hart says
This sounds delicious!