prawn & asparagus risotto with seared scallops

I think we all feel a bit on the glum side at the moment, stuck in the midst of this ridiculous weather. Wet & windy is not what we want! It is, however, what we've got, so this weekend I went down the comfort food route, and made Ms Chefilepsy & I a risotto. Quick, simple, hearty, and tasty enough to take your mind off what's outside, just for a little while at least.

I got hold of some lovely peeled fresh prawns from the guys at Kish Fish on Saturday morning (as well as half a dozen scallops, but then I just can't resist scallops!), and had some asparagus kicking about, so that decided what was going in the dish for me! You can stick in pretty much anything you want; the basic risotto is usually the same each time, with your main ingredient of choice just being stirred in towards the end.

Ingredients

• 200g peeled prawns (cooked or raw - I used raw)
• 350g risotto rice, such as Arborio or Vialone Nano
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 1 glass dry white wine
• 2 litres warm chicken or vegetable stock (I went for a 50/50 split)
• 20 asparagus spears, blanched in boiling slated water for 4 minutes, drained & cut into 
• 12 scallops, corals removed (optional)
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• A few knobs of butter
• Handful of freshly chopped flat leaf parsley

Method

1. Heat a large saute pan over a medium heat and add 2 or 3 knobs of butter. Once melted, add the shallots & fry gently for 4-5 mins until softened.
2. Add the rice and stir to coat. Cook for around 3 minutes then add the wine.
3. Reduce down a little over 2 or 3 minutes then add the first 3 ladles of stock.
4. Stir gently (but constantly) with a wooden spoon until you can 'draw' a line in the rice without it filling up with liquid (think of Moses parting the sea!).
5. Keep adding the stock, a ladle or two at a time, and follow step 4 until the stock has all gone. It WILL all fit, trust me!
6. Before you add the last ladle of stock, stir in the prawns and asparagus, until the prawns are cooked & warmed through, which should only take a couple of minutes.
7. Season to taste with salt & pepper, take off the heat and stand with the lid on for 2-3 minutes.
8. The risotto should be lovely and creamy, not stiff & sticky, and you should stir in a few more knobs of butter at the end to increase the richness.
9. Finally stir in the parsley & serve, garnished with 2 or 3 additional asparagus spears and 3 scallops per serving if you have them.
10. If you've gone for the scallops option, just season them on both ends with salt & pepper, heat some butter in a pan until melted & hot (but not burnt), and fry the scallops on each end for around 1 minute, or until seared.

Serves 4.