This dish arose from thoughts of what to do with some leftover asparagus. I had about a bunch of grilled asparagus left and they deserved a better fate than laying under plastic cling wrap for a week in the fridge. I also had a bag of mushrooms in the fridge (I store mine in a paper bag) and shrimp? I always have bags of frozen and de-veined shrimp in my freezer.
If you have a well-stocked pantry, whipping up dishes on the fly are that much easier: I have bay leaves brought back from Greece, there’s a well-stocked cellar with wine, rice among the dry goods, some fresh thyme from the herbs that I brought indoors and the dish is doable.
I had leftover grilled asparagus that I just tossed into the mix at the end but you may steam or blanche your asparagus and then toss at the end as well. I remove the woody ends of my asparagus by bending them. They will snap off naturally where the tender stem begins. Chop into small pieces and then add to boiling salted water and cook for 2-3 minutes. Shock in ice-cold water and then drain and reserve.
Like any proper risotto dish, the preparation is easy but some time needs to be invested: add stock, stir until absorbed by the rice, add more stock and repeat until the rice is just “al dente”.
If you’re pursuing this dish as a Lenten option, you’ll need a vegetable or seafood stock. I peeled the shells of the shrimp and covered with water. I brought the water to a boil and added a vegetable boullion cube to round-out the flavour. You may also add some grated cheese at the end if you’re more liberal about following Lent/fasting diets.
Risotto With Shrimp, Mushrooms and Asparagus
(serves 4)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium red onion, finely diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/4 cup Arborio rice
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. dry thyme
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 1/2 – 3 cups of seafood or vegetable stock
Approx. dozen asparagus spears, grilled or blanched
16-20 raw shrimp, peeled and de-veined
Approx. 12-14 button mushrooms, sliced
zest of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
- Peel the shells of your shrimp and de-vein (I buy shrimp that are already de-veined). Place the shells in a medium pot, cover with about 4 cups of water and add a vegetable boullion cube. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 30 minutes. Strain the stock and discard the shells. Keep your stock warm.
- Season your shrimp with some salt and pepper and add a couple of turns of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add your shrimp and saute until they are just pink on both sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve. In the same skillet, add the diced onions, garlic and sliced mushrooms and allow to sweat for about 5 minutes. Add more olive oil if it appears the mushrooms have absorbed the liquid.
- Add your rice and stir to coat and toast for a couple of minutes. Add the bay leaves, thyme and white wine and simmer while stirring until the rice has absorbed the wine.
- Add a ladle of warm stock and stir over medium heat until absorbed. This step is the most important in developing creamy risotto – adding the stock in increments while stirring until your risotto has become al dente.
- Once your risotto is cooked to your liking, add the reserved asparagus and your shrimp, lemon zest and toss to incorporate and warm the asparagus and shrimp. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Remove the bay leaves.
- Divide and plate. Drizzle each serving with some extra-virgin olive oil. Serve with a Palivou Stone Hills (Nemea), a white with a Chardonnay and Malagousia.
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© 2007-2010 Peter Minakis
36 Responses
Looks wonderful! What a great dish you came up with, with just some leftover asparagus! Looks very comforting, too.
I have some asparagus thatneeds to be used this week. Great idea. I may use salmon however as I donr have shrimp.The we will eat it tonight as we watch Germany beat Canada.LOL
A wonderful risotto! What a perfect way to use asparagus leftovers!
Cheers,
Rosa
Yum! Love the flavor combos and glad you saved the asparagus from the wrath of your fridge. I will def whip this up sometime between now and April 4.
love risotto, but never have made them at home and this just looks so so delicous.
My kind of risotto! Scrumptious & hearty looking! Cheers!
What a great dish Peter! I really need to think of risotto more often!
I like the way you put together leftovers. Risotto is such a great conduit for them. I too, brought back bay leaves from Italy – plucked from a hedge of laurel.
Now, I’m craving risotto. It’s been awhile since I’ve had some!
beautiful looking risotto, with all my favorite ingredients. of course i will add the cheese :-D
Μια χαÏά αξιοποίησες τα σπαÏάγγια Peter και σου Ï€ÏοÎκυψε Îνα πεντανόστιμο και νηστίσιμο πιάτο!
Φιλιά!
Beautiful looking risotto Peter. I love risotto and we have it quite a lot and I like the idea of including asparagus and shrimp here… Sounds sooo good!
I dunno if my pantry is that well-stocked (maybe not as much as yours), or maybe in the pastry sense ;) But I ought to, if I could make beautiful risottos on the fly too :)
Φαινεται λαχταÏιστο το πιατο σου!Μου αÏεσει πολυ το Ïιζοτο και εχεις συνδιασει τα υλικα τελεια!
colorful and creamy–those are my adjectives for this dish. nice.
That’s a great use for leftover asparagus!
Simple and delicious my dear friend…I need to give this one a go.
I’m laughing that we both just posted a version of mushroom risotto. Yours looks so beautiful, such great color. Sounds like it would be perfect for when spring is starting to hit & we get that wonderful young asparagus.
So olive oil is allowed for Lent? cool! I like all that oil dripping all over the place! Great idea to put lemon zest too! Hey, do Greeks use the Italian rice too? ( In Lebanon folks think it is way better than Egyptian rice, the best!)
The shrimp takes this ip a notch Peter. And I do believe I have all of the above ingredients so am ready to go!!!!
I do so love my risotto. You can really pull any veggies you want into it and always come up with a new dish.
OK, this is the second risotto and mushroom dish that I see today, the gods of food are trying to tell me something! Great dish to use lefotvers!
Looks amazing Peter! Indeed the key to creating good meals is having a well-stocked fridge and pantry. You don’t have to spend an excessive amount of $$ … just shop smartly and–as you shared–store smartly. Thanks for a great post!
Looks perfectly creamy. Great combination of ingredients!
LL
This is my kind of meal. I never tire of a delicious, creamy risotto and it looks as if yours has the perfect texture. THe shrimp really kicks it up as well. Bravo, Peter!
Leftover King????Looks amazing Peter, risotto is one of my favorite comfort foods!!
3 of my favorite ingredients here.. nothing but good!
Serve me up a large portion.
P,
I just made this exact dish with salmon.
I love the shrimp idea.
I don’t make risotto often, it’s the having to stir it all the time, I can’t walk and chew gum at the same time.
Love all the ingredients in this risotto. I make it very often and is one of my favourite. However, I have never made it with asparagus because I rarely find any fresh ones and when I do they are so darned expensive (about 8 euros a bunch of 5 – 6 asparaguses).
I always thought risotto needed butter and cheese until i tried olive oil recently and it worked wonders without sacrificing any of the creaminess. plus it is a great pantry dish, even in its simple form with some saffron.
I agree… a well stocked pantry can turn out a meal in no time. My daughter and son-in-law always tell me that they’re amazed how I can look into a refrigerator (where they see ‘nothing to eat’) and make a complete meal. Ha! Is the trick to keeping mushrooms good in the fridge keeping them in a paper bag?? I have the worst time with keeping fresh mushrooms. Delicious looking Lenten dish :)
this looks amazingly sexy sans the shrimp. I’d sub it with maybe duck or some succulent round eye chunks. Or maybe I’d just have to hand pick out the shrimp. Looks too good to pass up. Next time you make risotto, add some saffron—-sooooo good! :)
Yasou Peter!
I made this dish last night, making it suitable for lent with the veg. broth/shrimp shell broth. It was so delicious! Thanks for sharing!
I must admit that I have never before thought of seafood stock the way you do it. Simple. Brilliant.