A World Without Wheat...Risotto is Easy!

So the other day I did my home version of “Chopped.” You know, that Food Network hit show where you have a few ingredients you must use and a limited pantry and very little time to concoct a delicious dish? We do something fairly similar to “Chopped” when creating our daily meals. It is what I said that night this past week.  What to make for supper?  Hummm….   I had a small packet of sea scallops, a zucchini, half a can of diced tomatoes, and some fresh dill.   

I was tired of potatoes for my starch and thought of risotto which is made with Arborio rice.  That’s a special variety of short grain rice that soaks up liquid and turns into a creamy tasty meal with a little effort. I paged through my favorite Italian cookbook.  No scallop recipes. But, I found a shrimp risotto and adapted it adding in the zucchini and subbing my dill for the fresh herbs in the recipe. What I threw together and ate had an interesting flavor from the dill and I loved the zucchini addition.

I am sure it would be great made with fresh basil or even parsley.  And small to medium shrimps would likely be excellent instead of scallops in this recipe. You could take out the seafood and make it a vegetarian meal or serve this as a side dish to your protein.

It is naturally GF as long as the broth you use is GF.  Check the label!

Scallop Risotto for two

2 tbsp EVOL (Extra virgin olive oil)

¼ cup shallots or yellow onions, minced

1 garlic clove minced

½ cup Arborio rice

3 tbsp vermouth or dry white wine

½ a can of diced tomatoes with juices

1 ½ cups vegetable broth; heated in sauce pan

½ cup zucchini cut in small dice

4 to 6 ounces bay scallops

¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese.

2 to 3 tbsp chopped fresh dill

1 tbsp butter

Sea salt and black pepper

Directions

Heat 2 tbsp EVOL in big sauté pan.  Add the shallots, cook 3-4 minutes, add minced garlic, cook one minute.  Add the rice, cook 1-2 minutes, stirring well.  Add vermouth and cook 1-2 min until mostly gone.  Add tomatoes and cook 2-3 minutes.  Add the zuke and start adding broth a 1/3 cup at a time, stirring often.  Cook 10 minutes adding broth whenever it gets close to dry.  Keep on stirring. Add scallops and cook 5 or 6 minutes more or until rice is done but still has bite.  Stir in butter, fresh dill and parmesan cheese, season with salt and pepper to taste.  Enjoy!