Sun-Dried Tomato Risotto with Shrimp

What?  Laryngitis again?  How can this be?  The last five months have been challenging for me.  I have come down with laryngitis and the accompanying crud five times.  Yep, once a month for five months.  I must say being sick is getting old.  In between times, I have been in Seattle to visit and play with my granddaughter, Sabine.  Maybe I am catching it from flying.  Maybe I am just in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Whatever it is, it is time for it to end!

Being sick is playing havoc with cooking and posting....  However, on my most recent trip to Seattle, I made a delicious Sun-dried Tomato Risotto with Shrimp.  I had taken the most recent issue of Cuisine at Home to read while on the plane and I spied the recipe....it made me plain hungry!

It was really an easy dish to put together and if a two-year-old likes it, then it must be okay!

Sun-dried Tomato Risotto with Shrimp

adapted from Cuisine At Home, Issue 109, January/February 2015

Yield:  4 Servings

Risotto
3 1/2 cups each chicken stock and water
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
1 cup diced onion
4 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 Tbsp.)
1 Tbsp tomato paste
2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup Pecorino Romano, grated
1/2 cup minced oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
1 Tbsp chopped lemon zest
Salt and pepper, to taste

Shrimp
12 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails left on
1/4 tsp each kosher salt and black pepper
2 Tbsp canola oil
Chopped parsley

Combine the chicken stock and the water in a sauce pan.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat.  Maintain a simmer.

Melt 2 Tbsp butter in a saute pan over medium heat.  Add the onions, garlic and tomato paste.  Cook until the onions soften, about 5-6 minutes.

Stir in the rice to coat it with the butter and tomato paste mixture, about 1 minutes.  Add the wine. Simmer, stirring frequently until the wine is absorbed, 2 minutes.

Ladle one cup increments of the stock mixture into the rice.  Simmer and stir frequently until each addition has been absorbed before adding the next.

After five cups of stock has been added, taste the risotto for doneness.  Continue adding 1/2 cup increments until the risotto reaches al dente.

Off the heat, stir in the remaining 1 Tbsp. butter until melted.  Stir in the cheese, tomatoes and zest. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Keep the risotto warm until serving time.

Season the shrimp with salt and pepper.  In a saute pan over high heat, sear the shrimp in oil, about 2-3 minutes per side.  Top each serving of risotto with 3-4 shrimp and garnish with parsley.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

This was a great dish to have on a cold and rainy day. The leftovers were great even without the shrimp!

I many not have much of a voice today nor much of an appetite but I don't think Mr. T is going to want soup again.  I must come up with something different for dinner....

I am sharing today at Full Plate Thursday hosted by Miz Helen's Country Cottage and at Foodie Friday hosted by Michael at Rattlebridge Farm.