Saffron Lobster & Asparagus Risotto
After weeks of sweets, it’s I think it’s time for me to post a savory dish.
I spent most of last week looking through my pantry cupboards to see what I have in stock that I can/should use. I’m known to keep buying pantry cupboard staples and have multiple inventory of an item… Pastas, herbs, and a collection of rice. I’ve got Basmati, Jasmine, Japanese, a pre mix tub of Jasmine and Japanese, Harvest Medley, and a couple bags of Arbborio. And yes, I stared at my collection and asked… does a girl living on her own need that many rice in stock? So time to use some of them up. Now I’ve made Risotto before. Something I’ve learned back in a cooking class in high school, and obviously, it’s been a while.
In my freezer were 2 frozen Western Family lobster I stocked up on back in April when they were on sale. These are cooked lobster, about 350g/box. Claws, shells, and in a bag. All you need to do is defrost them and if you want to just have them plain with a bit of butter, you boil them in hot boiling water for 3 minutes and they’re good to go. I think it’s a great staple to have in your freezer (pick them up when they’re on sale, reg price 13-15/each)! Bring them out to spruce up your dish, especially when you’re entertaining guests 😉 AND that is exactly what I did.
When researching for a seafood risotto recipe (I love seafood w/ my risotto) I came across a Saffron Prawns and Asparagus Risotto. What I did was switch up the Prawns for my lobster and I have my dish.
Here are my ingredients and tweaks.
Ingredients:
1 tsp olive oil
2 Western Family 350g frozen Cooked Lobster (you can use fresh one, it’d just be a tad more work)
6 stalks asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 Knorr Homestyle Chicken Stock
½ cup water
¼ tsp saffron threads
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup finely minced onion
1 cups arborio rice
2 Bay leaves
½ cup white wine
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
¼ cup Kraft 100% Parmesan shreded cheese
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Defrost lobster in a warm water bath.
2. Deshell the lobster, removing the head from it’s body, but do not toss the head out just yet. Remove the meat from the tail and claw. Chop the tail and claw up into about…1 inch cubes.
3. In a small frying pan, heat up 1 tsp of olive oil and saute the lobster meat and asparagus together for about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the pan and into a bowl, and set aside.
4. Add 1L of water, the home style chicken stock gel as well as the 2 lobster head into a pot and bring to a boil. Set side. *Note the stock will reduce to about 3 cups…
5. Place ½ cup water and the saffron threads into a measuring cup; heat in the microwave for 1 minute. Set aside.
6. Heat 3 Tbsp of olive oil in a large 7 deep skillet, add onion and saute until soft (do not let them brown!) over medium heat. Add the rice and make sure the rice is well coated and incorporated with the oil. Cook until the rice begins to turn light brown.
7. Take the skillet off the heat and stir in the wine. Once incorporated, return the skillet to the heat. When the liquid is absorbed, begin adding broth, 1 ladle at a time. Let the liquid get absorbed into he rice before adding another ladle. Stir your rice around to make it’s well incorporated.
9. After about 1 cup of the broth is added, stir the saffron water into the rice. Continue adding broth, letting it absorb stir, and repeat until only a few table spoons of stock is left in the pot.
10. Turn the heat down to a low simmer, remove the bay leaves from the rice and add in butter and cheese. Stir contentiously until the butter’s melted and the cheese is melted and incorporated Add in he remaining broth and stir and let it simmer until rice is creamy.
11. Stir in the lobster and asparagus. Season to taste with salt and pepper and enjoy!
Remember to comment below if you give this recipe a go. Let me know how it went!