Risotto With Scallops and Prosecco

Ingredients

1 pound Carnaroli or Vialone Nano rice

1 pound medium sized scallops

1 glass Prosecco wine (room temperature)

1 quart seafood or fish stock, hot

1 large shallot or medium onion, finely chopped

2/3 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated

1/2 cup butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

Preparation

Heat fish stock in a pot up to almost boiling point, then reduce heat to simmer.

In a large pot over medium-high heat, melt 1/3 of a cup of butter until it starts foaming.

Add chopped shallot or onion and stir for couple of minutes until they turn golden (shallots have more sugar content so they tend to burn/caramelize earlier than regular onion)

Add rice and keep stirring well. The rice should 'toast' for about a minute.

Add the Prosecco and keep stirring until the wine has been absorbed, another minute or two.

Continue to stir constantly, or rice will burn. When rice is getting dry/too sticky, add one ladle of hot broth and keep stirring until it's mostly absorbed. Repeat, stirring constantly and adding broth for about 12 minutes. Rice should absorb the broth and gain volume during the process.

In a separate pan, heat up 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil until hot.

Sprinke some salt and pepper on scallops, then put them in the pan. Depending on their size you should cook them about 45 seconds to 1 minute before you turn them over and cook the other side. Do not overcook or they will turn rubbery (and you will be adding them to the rice, so they will continue cooking in there for a bit).

Don't forget to continue stirring the rice and adding broth if necessary.

When scallops are cooked, scoop them up and add them to the risotto. Add a ladle of hot broth to the pan to deglaze the scallops juice, scrape anything from the bottom of the pan and add it to the risotto.

Total cooking time for Carnaroli rice should be about 16/17 minutes. Vialone Nano will take a few minutes longer.

When rice is 'al dente', remove from heat, add the remaining butter (about 2 tbsp) and 1/3 cup of grated Parmigiano, and stir well to get a nice creamy texture.

Cover and let sit for a minute or two before serving. Sprinkle the rest of the Parmigiano cheese on top as needed.