Shrimp
Risotto
The
flavour is in .... the stock
Let me just say
first that risotto needs to be stirred gently and continuously for
about 15 /20 minutes and no, you cannot make a risotto without
stirring. As you stir a risotto and water it with your prepared
stock, the rice grains absorb the stock and swell, at the same time
releasing and yielding up their starch to create the characteristic
creamy binding sauce - provided you are using the right kind of rice,
of course. You cannot achieve the creamy consistency without
stirring, and risotto is a risotto only if you follow the classic procedure to obtain the classic result. However delicious the
dish you make without stirring, it will be a a great rice dish, but
not a risotto.
More than with
other risottos, where you can add flavour to a vegetable stock by
cooking the vegetable in with the rice, a good shrimp or seafood
risotto depends entirely on the quality of the stock used in making
it. You would only ruin seafood like calamari, shell fish or shrimp
if you cook them in with the rice for 15/20 minutes. They would end
up tough and tasteless, having contributed all their flavour to the
stock. Fish and shellfish should be pre-cooked briefly and added to
the risotto only for the last 2 or 3 minutes to warm through. So if
you want your risotto rice to be flavoursome, you need a very tasty
stock to start with, otherwise it will be bland and
dull.
The
flavour is in .... the heads
There is lots
of good shrimp flavour in the carcass, and most of all there is
flavour in shrimp heads. The best shrimp stock of my life we made in
Charleston, South Carolina, a few years back when I was there running
classes to raise funds for the wonderful Louie's
Kids charity. Rather intimidated by stories of how demanding I
was when shopping, the hosts of a cooking class for 12 making a fish
based meal took me direct to the waterfront to buy the ingredients we
needed for the class. We entered a sort of warehouse, a long narrow
room which was open at the back onto the quay where they were
unloading fish and shellfish from the boats and shrimp trawlers. There was a
counter where we were meant to stop and I stepped a little to one
side of it so as to get a good view of the fish down the far end. As
I peered down the room craning my neck for a better view someone came
and placed a "No Entry" barrier six inches in front of me,
hint hint.
Then I heard a
voice:
"Would you
like a closer look ma'am?" - Observant fellow!
"Oooh yes
please!"
And he removed
the barrier.
As we walked
down checking out the fish, choosing which ones we'd buy for our
baked stuffed fish main course, I spied a huge mini-mountain of
shrimp heads, a bunch of men sitting by it separating heads from
bodies and tossing the heads onto the pile.
"What are
you planning to do with those?"
"Throw 'em
away ma'am, no one wants them."
"Oh
I want
them, can I have some?"
"Sure, how
much do you want?"
"Well,
what do they cost?"
"Nothing
ma'am, not even the cats want them"
So I drew with
my hands the outline of a standard pillow case, and he looked around,
found a plastic bag even larger than that and filled it to the brim. Which put a very big smile on my face.
Feeling
grateful for the foolishness of people who don't want the heads on
when they buy the shrimp, we took my prize home to cook, along with
two large and extremely fresh flounder.
I tell you, that stock, and
the risotto we made with it, were out-of-this world sensational, one
of the memorable meals of my life.
Risotto
con le Canocchie
I
made this risotto because I had some shrimp stock in the freezer. Any
time I cook with shrimps or prawn I save the shells and put them in a
bag in the freezer, then when I have time I put them into a stock pot
with a bay leaf or two, cover with water, bring to a boil and just
leave to simmer for 30 minutes or so. I use a metal scoop strainer to
fish out the shrimp heads and carcasses in batches and press down
with a wooden spoon to get as much liquid out as I can. I save the
strained stock in the fridge if I plan to use within a day or two, or
in the freezer otherwise. I also make mantis shrimp stock when they are small and cheap. I just snip each one in half with scissors and proceed as above, but with mantis shrimp I put the heads and carcasses into a food mill to extract every last drop of the subtle flavour and add it to the strained stock.
Having
decided it was shrimp risotto day I went to the market to check out
the shrimp. The thing that looked best and freshest to me was the
mantis shrimp.
Mantis shrimp are my favourite seafood. Sweet as crab, a flavour
that is reminiscent of lobster, tasty in a subtle delicate way and
with an incomparable texture - not all stringy or dry, very silky and
melt in the mouth. The very hard carcass is full of sharp bony bits
and the little monsters are hard to clean. Some say they take too
much effort for the small amount of sweet flesh yielded, but not me!
You can use standard shrimp for this recipe but just in case you can
get Mantis Shrimp I have put instructions on how to prepare them at
the end of the recipe. Many recipes and many cooks, leave them whole in their shells but they are so difficult to extract from their shells by hand that I think this is almost rude to the diner. You will find a more detailed description
of risotto procedures here.
Note : Canocchie are also go by the name of "pannocchie" and "cicale" in other parts of Italy.
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