Risotto with Bay Scallops

I love to cook risotto at home; that's where I give it the attention it deserves. It's so soul satisfying to make and to serve and to eat. And it's really easy. It does take patience, however. But, again, this is why I love it, it's a commitment dish. It's not like you can just throw it in a pan and walk away. The key is stirring the rice to release all the starch that makes it creamy and delicious. Keep it simple: sweat garlic and onion in olive oil, add the rice and toast it, then add your wine, cook continuously until it's tender, and finish it with some cheese and a little butter. That's it. I do think it's a preparation that requires fresh stock. Water just doesn't have the flavor or body, and inferior canned broths reduce, thereby intensifying their inferior flavor.

Reprinted from the book Michael Symon’s Live to Cook by Michael Symon. Copyright © 2009 by Michael Symon. Photographs copyright © 2009 by Donna Turner Ruhlman. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc.

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Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil		1/2 cup dry white wine
1 medium yellow onion, minced		3 to 4 cups chicken stock (see recipe below)
2 garlic cloves, minced		1/2 pound bay scallops, or 1/2 pound sea scallops cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup diced prosciutto		1/4 cup sliced fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 cup Arborio rice		1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 generous pinch saffron		2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

directions

Total: 60 min

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1
Heat the olive oil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sweat it for 2 minute. Add the garlic and sweat it for 2 minutes more. Add the prosciutto and cook it until it crisps, about 1 minute. Add the rice and let it toast slightly in the hot fat, about 1 minute, stirring with a wooden spoon.
2
Reduce the heat to low, add the saffron and wine, and stir continuously until most of the wine has cooked off. Add I cup of the stock and stir continuously until the liquid has cooked off, about 3 minutes. Add another cup of stock and repeat the process. Taste the rice. Continue to add stock in 1/4-cup increments until the rice is tender and the risotto is creamy.
3
Add the scallops and continue to stir for 2 minutes, or until the scallops are heated through. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the parsley, butter, and cheese and serve immediately.

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Risotto with Bay Scallops

Ingredients

directions