Creamy risotto filled with chunks of freshly steamed lobster, oh it’s so luscious! This is the perfect dish for a romantic night in or Valentine’s Day dinner! It’s pretty easy, and simple to make and perfect for date night!
When my husband found out I was making Lobster and Lamb for Valentine’s, I can safely say he was beyond excited. Surf and Turf can never go wrong!
For the risotto, as long as you have a little patience, it’s actually very easy. The creamy texture with added asparagus spears, peas, and garnished with some fresh chives is absolutely divine!
Stay tuned for the lamb recipe for the turf portion of this delicious V-Day meal! In the meantime, I really hope you enjoy this luscious Lobster Risotto!
1/2 c white wine, any bottle you have open will work
4 c chicken broth
1 c asparagus, cut into 1/2” pieces
1/2 c frozen green peas, thawed
3/4 c grated pecorino romano cheese
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp chives, chopped
For the Lobster:
2 large lobster tails (4–5 oz. each)
pot of water
Instructions
For the Risotto:
In medium saucepan add chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Lower heat and keep covered.
Heat a large non stick saucepan on medium heat and add butter. When it is heated, add onions and saute for 3-4 minutes, until translucent.
Add in the garlic and saute for 30 seconds to let the flavors bloom.
Add in the arborio rice and stir to mix with the onions and garlic. Let the rice toast for about 1 minute then add in the white wine. Keep stirring until the liquid is absorbed into the rice.
Add in 1/2 cup of the broth to the rice. Keep stirring the rice until the liquid is absorbed, about 3-4 minutes.
Repeat this process by continuing to add broth 1/2 c at a time and stirring often until all of the broth is used up. This process will take about 20-30 minutes.
After you add in the last cup of chicken broth, also add in the asparagus and green peas. Stir until the liquid is evaporated again. Then squeeze in lemon juice and add pecorino romano cheese. Stir until creamy.
For the Lobster:
Bring 1 inch water to a boil in a large pot or deep skillet with a tight-fitting lid. Place a steamer basket over water. Place tails in the basket. Cover and steam until meat is just opaque and very plump, 4-5 minutes; do not overcook or meat will begin to shrink and dry out.
To Assemble:
Remove the meat from one of the lobster tails and dice it up into rough chunks.
Add lobster meat to the cooked risotto. Stir to incorporate.
With remaining lobster tail, slice in half lengthwise.
Serve 1 cup of risotto for each person and top with half a lobster tail.
One of my favorite Italian dishes is risotto. It’s so creamy, decadent, and delicious. I started experimenting with the basics of making risotto about 9 months ago.
When I first started making it, I was a little intimidated. To be honest, I had to work up my nerve to attempt it for quite a while as I had heard stories about how hard it is to make risotto. One day, I decided to just go for it. If nothing else, I have frozen pizza to serve the family. (Yep, I always have frozen pizza on hand …. though, currently I stock this amazing cauliflower crust pizza with veggies on top. Ummm, anyways, story for another time.)
I must have looked through a dozen recipes to see which didn’t intimidate me and seemed the easiest. In hindsight, they are all easy. You see, I think people get overwhelmed with the idea that you have to babysit this dish. You literally do. It’s not a quick and easy weeknight dinner but it is an amazing labor of love. From start to finish, I would say cooking this specific dish (we’re including the time to roast the squash), I spent about an hour in front of the stove. About 80% of that is stirring the risotto so it doesn’t stick, 10% was prep work and 10% was zoning out the kids while they screamed their latest rock concert with Frozen lyrics.
The secret to a perfect risotto, you have to stir the broth in one ladle at a time. Yep, a bit tedious, but this is definitely one of those times where patience brings very delectable rewards.
During my extensive research to find an “easy” recipe for risotto, I also looked into why I couldn’t just add the broth all at once. One reason that I found for adding the broth slowly is that by doing so, the rice releases the starch slowly and therefore, giving the dish its creamy texture. Adding the broth all at once, covering it and leaving it to cook can ruin your risotto in two different ways. One, the water will sit at the bottom from lack of stirring the risotto and can burn the dish from the bottom. Second, instead of giving the risotto its creamy texture, dumping the broth all at once can make break the rice and make it mushy rather than keeping the rice kernels whole but cooked and creamy.
I know this seems like a lot but really, it’s just reinforcing the fact that you need to add your broth slowly and you will have an amazing risotto.
The only other tip I want to add is to constantly check for salt. I used veggie bouillon combined with water for my broth in this recipe. You can use a low sodium broth also. The bouillons tend to have a higher sodium content so don’t add salt until you’ve tasted it. The parmesan cheese also brings a lot of salt content with it. The last thing you want to end up with a salty risotto you can barely eat (trust me, I’ve done this too. Speaking from unfortunate experience). Keep tasting as you go.
Fun fact, arborio rice looks very similar to idli rice. In fact, I picked it up and almost used it before I realized there was a slight difference. The idli rice is a little plumper than arborio. Of course, I did more research and found that idli rice can be used as a substitute for arborio because of its a medium grain. When you compare the two side by side, they look very similar.
From my kitchen to yours, Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1½ c butternut squash, cubed
1 ½ c arborio rice
1 med onion, diced finely
5 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp thyme, roughly chopped
6 c veggie broth
1 c Parmesan cheese
¾ tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbsp Oil (Avo or EVOO)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Toss squash with 1 Tbsp oil, salt and pepper. Spread out on a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes.
In a large pot, heat veggie broth until it comes to a boil, then lower the heat to low and cover.
Meanwhile, In a deep and wide pan, heat oil and add onions. Cook for 7-8 minutes until they are cooked through and translucent.
Add in the garlic and cook for 1 minute on med-low flame. Add in the risotto and 2 Tbsp thyme and cook for 8-10 minutes until the rice is toasted and has a light golden red color to it.
Add in 1 ladle of broth and wait for it to burn off while you keep stirring the risotto. As it burns off. Keep adding the broth 1 ladle at a time until you use up all of the broth. As the risotto cooks with the broth, you’ll notice it getting plumper and creamier. When all of the broth is used up, and cooked into the risotto, the texture should be thick and creamy. Turn off the heat and mix in ¾ c Parmesan and mix well.
Add in the butternut squash and remaining thyme and mix.
Serve hot into bowl and garnish with some of the remaining Parmesan cheese.