Porcini risotto with spicy shrimp

Recipes: Porcini risotto, Spicy shrimp

Have you ever made risotto? It's one of those things, like souffle, that has the reputation of being difficult. Or at least work intensive. And when you learn how to make it, you're surprised because it's not difficult at all. Risotto is a country dish, and the country is Italy. Compagnoli, country people in Italy, have been making this dish to stretch resources and provide delicious food for their families for ages. So how hard can it really be?

What you do need is a little time, about 30 minutes (plus 30 minutes for soaking the porcini), and the ability to concentrate for about 20 of those minutes. Piece of cake, right?

Here's a really special dinner for two with complex tastes and minimal work and time involved. You're going to love it.

Porcini Risotto with Spicy Shrimp

• 3 ounces or so of dried porcini, rehydrated in a cup of boiling water for 30 minutes.
• 1 cup risotto rice. I use Trader Joe's brand of arborio rice.  
• 2 tablespoons butter, divided, plus 1 tablespoon to use at the end
• 1/4 cup chopped onion or leeks
• 1/4 cup dry white wine, like sauvignon blanc
• 2 cups of chicken broth, heated in microwave or on stove until hot but not boiling
• 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1 dozen (or more) raw shelled shrimp. I like them with tails on.
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar

Squeeze the rehydrated porcini mushrooms to extract all the juice and chop them. Save the water they soaked in and strain it through a paper-towel-lined sieve. Combine the strained mushroom water with the hot broth and reheat it. Keep the broth hot while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Pat the shrimp dry. In a bowl, toss the shrimp with the paprika, cayenne, salt, and sugar. Let them sit while you melt 1 tablespoon butter in a baking dish that can go under the broiler. When it's melted, turn each shrimp over in the melted butter and then arrange them in one layer in the dish. Put aside, they will go under the broiler later.

In a medium heavy saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Add the onion or leeks and saute until soft. Add the chopped mushrooms and saute for 1 minute. Add the raw rice and cook, stirring, until the rice starts to smell nutty, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add the wine and cook, stirring, until the wine is absorbed by the rice. Add 1/2 cup of the hot broth mixture and cook, stirring, until the liquid is absorbed.

Turn the broiler on to High.

Continue the process of adding 1/2 cup of the hot broth mixture at a time and stirring, until all the broth is used. Toward the end, taste a piece of rice to determine whether it is almost completely soft. If it is still hard in the middle, add a little broth to the last bit and heat it before putting it in with the rice.

Turn off the heat on the rice. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and the grated cheese, and stir vigorously until it is thoroughly mixed in. This gives your risotto wonderful taste and a creamy consistency.

Slip the baking dish of shrimp under the broiler for exactly 3 minutes. When it is done, take it out and arrange the shrimp on top of the pot of risotto. Serve it immediately with wine and perhaps a plate of sliced tomatoes, if they are in season, or a simple green salad. Buon appetito!