Seafood Risotto with a Beurre Blanc Sauce

For the past 7 years me and the husband have forgone Christmas gifts and decided to do a nice meal together instead. When we were dating it took the pressure off of figuring out what to get the other person, and now that we are married  it gives us the quality time we need during the chaos of the Christmas season. This year I made a seafood risotto with a beurre blanc sauce out of a cookbook I borrowed from my aunt. Now let me just say, I wasnt even really sure what a beurre blanc sauce was so dont think I am all fancy. It was actually surprisingly easy to follow the recipe 😉 .

Oh my this was delicious! The original recipe called for lobster, but like I mentioned before I wanted to spend quality time with my husband and who really has time to boil lobster then shell it for just a tiny piece of meat. I went the easy route and used crab instead, which honestly I dont think I could taste the difference. It called for a truffle risotto but I opted to just use my go to Parmesan risotto recipe instead. Also I was really excited when my sauce did not break and kinda shocked at how easy it was to make, not to mention how delicious! Seriously if you need a meal to impress this is the one you should use! It came together fairly quick and the recipe was really easy to follow.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years like we did!

Seafood Risotto with a Beurre Blanc Sauce

Adopted from Alexander’s

Ingredients: 

1. 2 tablespoons olive oil
2. 6 scallops
3. 6 shrimp peeled and deveined
4. 1 teaspoon minced shallots
5. 1/4 cup white wine
6. 3/4 crab meat
7. salt and pepper to taste
8. 1/2 parmesan cheese
9. 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
10. beurre blanc sauce (recipe below)
11. Parmesan risotto (recipe below)

Directions: 

1. Prepare the beurre blanc sauce and keep warm
2. Prepare the risotto just before serving
3. In a sauce pan heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add the scallops and brown on one side, turn the scallops over. Add the shrimp and cook until pink. Add the shallots, white wine, and crab meat. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and chopped chives. Remove from heat and keep warm with foil.

Beurre Blanc sauce

Ingredients: 

1. 1/2 cup white wine
2. 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
3. 1 teaspoon lemon juice
4. 1 tablespoon minced shallots
5. 2 tablespoons heavy cream
6. 1/2 cup butter, cold, cut into cubes
7. salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

1. Over medium heat combine the wine, vinegar, lemon juice, and shallots. Bring to a boil. Reduce until the liquid becomes syrupy. Add the cream. Reduce by half
2. Turn the heat to low and gradually add the butter while stirring with a wooden spoon. Do not boil the sauce or it will separate. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm over low heat.

*The original recipe called for straining the sauce through a sieve, 1. I dont own a sieve and 2. I was just being lazy so I did not complete this step but honestly the way its served I dont think it made a difference!

Risotto

Ingredients:

1. 3 to 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2. 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3. 1 medium onion, finely chopped
4. 1 clove garlic, minced
5. 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
6. 1 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Blanc or Sauvignon Blanc
7. 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
8. 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
9. 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer and keep warm over low heat.
2. In a separate medium saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the onion qand garlic and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the onion is transparent, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until it is well coated with the butter and starts to turn translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and simmer gently until all the liquid is absorbed, 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Ladle 1/2 cup of the warm broth into the rice mixture and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the broth is absorbed. Repeat, adding 1/2 cup of broth at a time, until the rice is cooked through but still firm, 20 to 25 minutes total.
4. Add the remaining butter and the salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup of Parmesan. Stir to incorporate. Adjust seasoning with more salt to taste. Serve immediately, topping with additional Parmesan.

To serve assemble the risotto on a plate then add the sauce and top with the seafood mixture, you will not be disappointed!! 🙂