Seafood Risotto Recipe
Creamy Italian risotto with shrimp, scallops and mussels. Warm stock one ladle at a time, seafood added in sequence at the end, and cold butter stirred in off the heat for the silky finish.
Ingredients
The Rice
- 1½ cups Carnaroli or Arborio rice 300g — short-grain only
The Seafood
- ½ lb large shrimp 225g, peeled and deveined
- ¼ lb sea scallops 115g, patted dry
- ½ lb mussels 225g, scrubbed and debearded
The Liquid
- 5 cups seafood or fish stock 1.2L, kept warm — or clam juice diluted 1:1 with water
- ¾ cup dry white wine 180ml total — ½ cup for risotto, ¼ cup for steaming mussels
The Base
- 1 medium shallot finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 45ml
The Finish
- 2 tbsp cold unsalted butter 30g, cubed — must be cold
- 1 lemon zest and juice
- fresh flat-leaf parsley small handful, chopped
- salt and white pepper to taste — season at the end only
Instructions
- Warm the stock in a saucepan over low heat. Keep at a bare simmer throughout — never let it go cold.
- Heat olive oil in a wide, heavy pan over medium heat. Add shallot and cook 3–4 minutes until soft. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add rice, stir to coat every grain in oil, and toast 2 minutes until the edges turn slightly translucent. Do not skip this step.
- Pour in ½ cup white wine and stir until absorbed, 1–2 minutes. Begin adding warm stock one ladle (½ cup) at a time, stirring every 20–30 seconds and waiting until each addition is mostly absorbed before adding the next. Continue 18–20 minutes until rice is al dente — tender with slight resistance in the center.
- While the risotto cooks: in a separate lidded pan, steam mussels with ¼ cup white wine over high heat, 3–4 minutes until all shells open. Discard any that stay closed. Strain and reserve the liquid. Remove mussels from shells, keeping a few in shell for garnish.
- In the last 3 minutes of cooking, add scallops to the risotto and stir gently. In the last 90 seconds, add shrimp. Pour in reserved mussel liquid and add mussels to warm through.
- Remove from heat. Add cold butter cubes and stir vigorously 30 seconds until glossy and emulsified — this is the mantecatura. Add lemon zest and juice. Taste and season with salt and white pepper. Serve immediately in warmed bowls, garnished with parsley and reserved mussels in shell.
Notes
Keep stock hot at all times — cold stock disrupts texture. Seafood timing: scallops 3 min, shrimp 90 sec, mussels (already cooked) just to warm through. No Parmesan — traditional Italian seafood risotto skips cheese. Risotto is ready all'onda: drag a spoon through and it slowly flows back in 1–2 seconds. Mantecatura: cold butter must go in off the heat, stirred vigorously 30 seconds to emulsify.