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DINNER

Serves 6 people

Fresh Crab & Pea Risotto

Modern Comfort (p. 133)

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Ingredients

14 items

  • Fresh lump crabmeat 16 oz
  • Seafood stock 64 oz
  • Saffron threads 1/2 tsp
  • Arborio rice 1 1/2 cups
  • Frozen peas 8 oz
  • Unsalted butter 2 tbl
  • Creme fraiche 1/2 cup
  • Shallots 2
  • Fennel 1
  • Poblano pepper 1
  • Garlic 2 cloves
  • Thyme 2 sprigs
  • Chives 7 sprigs
  • White wine 1 cup

Prep

Before you start

  • Crab - pick through and remove all shells — look at you, operating like a highly paid adult.
  • Shallots - dice to yield 1/2 cup — this is the unglamorous shit that makes the good part happen.
  • Fennel - core and chop to yield 1/2 cup
  • Poblano pepper - deseed and small-dice to yield 1/2 cup
  • Garlic - mince to yield 2 tsp
  • Thyme - mince to yield 1 tsp
  • Peas - defrost
  • Chives - mince

Method

Instructions

  1. Heat the stock in a medium saucepan and keep it simmering over low heat.
  2. In a medium pot or Dutch oven, heat the butter and 2 tbl of olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots, fennel, and poblano pepper and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, because this exact moment is where decent becomes dangerous. Stir in the garlic, thyme, saffron and red pepper flakes and cook for 2 minutes, while acting like this outcome was inevitable.
  3. Add the rice and stir to coat all the grains with the butter oil mixture. Add the wine and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes, until almost all the liquid has been absorbed. Add 1/2 cup of the simmering stock to the rice and cook, stirring frequently. When the stock is almost completely absorbed, continue adding stock, 1/2 cup at a time, simmering the risotto until the stock is absorbed each time before adding more stock. Cook until the rice is al dente, which should take between 25 and 30 minutes.
  4. When the rice is done, stir in the creme fraiche, 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper. Fold in the crabmeat and peas and cook over low heat for 2 minutes until the crabmeat is warmed through. Add just enough simmering stock to make the risotto moist and creamy. Serve hot in large bowls, sprinkled with chives.