Simple Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto
Try this Simple Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this Simple Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto recipe, or contribute your own.
- Carbohydrate 67.1669229166685 g
- Cholesterol 29.9182291732072 mg
- Fat 10.9588739608008 g
- Fiber 2.35199995994568 g
- Protein 11.9302968750259 g
- Saturated Fat 6.64501750156266 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (109g)
- Sodium 587.218333350856 mg
- Sugar 64.8149229567228 g
- Trans Fat 0.764323125172731 g
- Calories 423 calories
Step-by-step
- Bring chicken broth to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat to low and keep hot.
- In a medium-sized saucepan, melt butter over medium heat then add onion and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add rice then stir to coat in butter. Add wine then stir until nearly absorbed by rice. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth to pan and stir continuously until broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until nearly absorbed before adding more.
- When there's about 3 additions of broth left, add asparagus pieces and continue stirring. When there's 2 additions of broth left, add shrimp and continue stirring. Taste rice and determine if you will need to use all 2-1/2 cups broth to get the rice to a chewy-tender consistency.
- To finish, stir in parmesan cheese then add pepper and salt to taste.
The Silence of the Starch
Standard ingredient lists assume familiarity with Italian techniques that are entirely omitted from the text. Arborio rice contains high amounts of amylopectin, a starch that requires friction and gradual liquid absorption to achieve the characteristic creamy emulsion without cream. Without maintaining a gentle simmer on the chicken broth in its separate saucepan, adding cold liquid to the rice pan drops the temperature below 80 degrees Celsius instantly, halting starch expansion and leading to unevenly cooked grains.
The Danger of Overcooked Crustacea
Jumbo shrimp and chopped asparagus pieces introduce severe timing variables into a standard grain-cooking procedure. Introducing proteins too early transforms them into rubbery hazards by the time the rice reaches an al dente center. Adding the shrimp when precisely two additions of broth remain guarantees that residual heat finishes cooking the crustacea to an internal temperature of 63 degrees Celsius without toughening the flesh, while dropping the asparagus in three additions out preserves its bright chlorophyll green.
Managing the Acid and Fat Balance
Dry white wine such as pinot grigio provides essential tartaric acid that cuts through the heavy lipids of butter and freshly grated parmesan cheese. Deglazing the pan immediately after toasting the grains in fat requires complete evaporation of the alcohol within 60 seconds before any broth enters the vessel. Final seasoning demands caution because processed chicken broth contains high baseline sodium levels that concentrate as the liquid reduces over the 25-minute cooking window.
