oh man do i need to start eating lighter meals! when is summer??i need my fresh garden veg and fresh off the boat seafood. how many more weeks left?

this is a meal, however, i could not stop myself from making. first, because valentine’s day is coming, and second, i had truffle cheese in my fridge and shrimp the size of my hand. how could i resist? sorry, i couldn’t.

this is not an easy whip up recipe, it takes time and patience. it’s really a great meal to make for that special someone, it’s really good. if you look at the picture you will notice some sort of salad on top. that’s a fennel salad. i know most of you are probably saying to yourselves about now, oh yuck, but trust me, this is worth trying. it lightens up the dish and adds a nice bite. all the flavors come together, you’ll just want to keep going back for more.

so here it is folks, 3 recipes in one post. why? because it’s almost valentine’s day and that special someone deserves a great dinner made with love.

fennel salad

  • 1 fennel
  • 1 lemon
  • salt
  1. slice the fennel really thin, i used my mandolin to shave it. toss it with lemon juice and a pinch of salt. set aside in the fridge. this can sit all day, the longer it sits the fennel soaks up the lemon and it gives it an unbelievable flavor.

shrimp

  • 10 large shrimp, shelled and cleaned
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 2 tbl white wine
  • pinch of salt
  1. because my grill is covered in snow, i broiled my shrimp.
  2. mix all ingredients together and let marinate for at least 15 minutes. i threw this all together before i started my risotto. when i hit my last step in the risotto, i then broiled it for about 3-4 minutes on each side. they were huge shrimp. you want to make sure they are pink and cooked thoroughly.

risotto

  • 2 shallots minced
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 4 tbl butter
  • 1 cup aborio rice
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 4 cups stock
  • 1 cup grated cheese - i used a 1/2 cup moliterno with truffles and 1/2 cup parm
  • a pinch of truffle salt
  • 2 tbl parsley
  1. in a pot, heat up your stock, bring to a boil and then a low simmer.
  2. in a dutch oven or heavy saucepan, melt 2 tbl butter, add shallots and garlic cook for about 4 minutes, enough to become translucent not brown. add your aborio rice and cook for a minute. add your wine and let the rice absorb all of it. it takes about 3 minutes or so.
  3. ladle about 1 scoop of stock to the pot and mix. before adding more stock let the stock reduce until the rice has absorbed all the liquid. do not let the rice get dry, keep on top of it and add and mix an then start with stock again. keep doing this till you have 1 ladle full left, reserve that for the last step.
  4. when all your stock is used up and the rice is cooked, turn off your flame and add your butter, cheese, parsley, truffle salt and the reserved stock, mix. cover your pot and let sit for about 2-3 minutes.

to plate: add risotto to the bottom of your bowl, add your shrimp and then a small scoop of your fennel salad.

hope you enjoy this, it is a great recipe! although it takes a long time, it is so worth it.

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