Cooking Class | Crawfish Risotto

by JENNIFER BUCHET, posted on May 24th, 2012 in Cooking

Whooee! Hear that? That’s my ‘Cajun accent. I think today’s cooking class introduction calls for a little Justin Wilson, don’t you? Jennifer Buchet is here today with a great recipe for Crawfish Risotto. You’re gonna love it. I gar-on-tee! xo, Jen

Crawfish, crayfish, mud puppies, mudbugs, crawdads—they’re all just funny names for a smaller cousin of the lobster. Whatever you call it, it is good to eat! Recently, my family held our annual crawfish boil, serving 100 lbs of these little Louisiana lobsters. Surprisingly, we had some leftovers. So what does one do with all this extra meat?

Toss it in a risotto, of course!

Whenever I think of risotto, I think of a sumptuous, cheesy, rice dish. Hearty enough on its own, it’s also great served in smaller portions as an appetizer or a side. Yes, risotto can be intimidating to make, especially if you’ve never done it before. But this dish is actually pretty easy to create. Just remember to taste along the way, seasoning with salt when needed.

And keep stirring!

Ingredients

6 cups of chicken stock
1 tbs olive oil
2 tbs butter
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 tsp garlic, minced
2 cups Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
2 tbs lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
3 large scallions, chopped
6 oz artichoke hearts, chopped
½ cup sliced mushrooms
½ lb crawfish tails, peeled and cooked
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup chopped parsley

1. In a medium-sized saucepan, simmer the chicken stock on a low heat.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over a medium heat, then add the butter to melt.
3. Add the onions, pepper and garlic. Cook until just wilted, about 3 minutes.
4. Add the rice, stirring constantly, until the grains are opaque, about 2 minutes. You’re effectively toasting the rice lightly.
5. Pour in the wine. Keep stirring until it evaporates, about 1 minute.
6. Add ½ cup of the warm stock, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Keep stirring until the stock has been absorbed.
7. Continue to add ½ cup of stock at a time (or 2 large ladle-fulls) to the rice. Stir, stir, stir! Once that batch of liquid has absorbed, add another ½ cup and stir. Keep going! This process will take about 20 minutes to use up all the stock
8. Add the scallions, crawfish, mushrooms and artichoke hearts. Stir in and cook for about 3 minutes.
9. Finally, add the heavy cream and Parmesan cheese. (Keep stirring!)
10. Take everything off the heat and toss in the parsley, letting the risotto sit for a few minutes before serving.

Your family will thank you for all the work you put into making this delicious meal. So now put your feet up and relax as they clean the dishes!

By the way, crawfish season typically begins in February and lasts through the end of June. This recipe is also terrific using shrimp instead of crawfish, or even adding some extra shrimp into the recipe above!