Learn how to make this simple dish of Lobster Risotto the Keep On Cookin’ way with Chef Nick Rabar. Simple ingredients, with a whole lot of flavor.

Veggies & Broth

Nick Rabar (1:32) Hey, everyone, welcome to keep on cooking. And today we’re making a dish I’ve been making ever since I was a kid and that is lobster risotto. Risotto really is a dish that’s best when it’s simple. So we don’t want to go too crazy today. But of course, we’re going to add a few things just to make it the way we do it here on Keep on Cookin’. We’re going to start by preheating the pan on medium heat, going to go with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil. So we’re going to start off with some onions along with a little bit of celery and then some fresh chopped carrot. So we’ll let this go for just about maybe a minute and a half. Okay, now that we sweat those vegetables, we’re going to go in with what is the star of the show and that is the rice.

Okay, if we’re using arborio rice, arborio rice is a high starch rice. And we’re going to go with about let’s say a cup and a half. This high starch rice is very commonly used in risotto. It’s a little wider than some grains of rice, and that high starch as a nice creaminess to the risotto. And now we’re going to go in with a risotto must have. And that is stock. We’re making a lobster risotto. So we’re going to use lobster stock. I’ve made the stock from the shells of the lobster, and then some aromatic vegetables. If you don’t have that, no problem, you can use clam stock, even chicken stock would work. And you want to add it in about three different phases. You can see that broth looks nice and rich the starch has released. And it’s really come together beautifully. We got to start to add a couple of fabulous little finishes, we’re going to go with a pinch of salt. But let’s go in with some butter on the finish. There’s a lot of things you can add to risotto.

Lobster

NR (3:28) Alright, now let’s go in with what we all came for the lobster. Notice the lobster is cooked. And that’s why we’re going in with it at the end. That’s the cut you’re looking for right there a nice medium chop on that lobster and you’re going at the last minute, because again, it’s cooked. And you don’t want the meat to overcook and get tough. So you might be asking yourself, How do you know when it’s done? Well, I’ve been cooking this dish for 30 years, I can tell that the rice is nice and swollen, the starches ever released. But when in doubt, go ahead and taste it. You want to be sure that the rice is done properly. And it absolutely is just perfect.

Finishing Touches

NR (4:08) We got to go ahead and finish this up. Because it’s critical time risotto is not a dish you make it let sit risotto is a dish you make and serve immediately. So to finish this off, I’m going to go with some tomato which is simply tomatoes that are lightly cooked and we removed the skin. We’re gonna go in with some fresh chopped chives. And now we’re gonna finish it with sort of a must have and that’s Parmesan. So let’s go ahead and fresh grate some Parmesan right into that. That’s also going to help with yep, you guessed it, the creaminess of the dish. Look at how unbelievable this looks. Lobster risotto done flawlessly.  So the dishes done, it’s perfect. But just to add a little bit more. We’re gonna bring back a couple of the greatest hits from the dish, we’re going to put a little fresh chive a little bit of breadcrumbs. Then we’ll go on with something that goes a long way with risotto or any kind of risotto even a seafood risotto, fresh Parmesan. And that is lobster risotto that’s a wrap from here today gang and until we meet again, Keep on Cookin’.

Wine Pairing

Jeremy Christie – Wines & More consultant (5:35) Hi, I’m Jeremy Christie wine consultant here at Wines and more in Cranston, Rhode Island and the certified sommelier, and today we’re going to talk about the pairing for Chef Nick’s lobster risotto. Now the classic pairing would be white burgundy, however, I want to showcase the first thing ever learned about wine pairing, which is this what grows together goes together. So instead we’re gonna move into the Valdobbiadene region of Prosecco, and today we’re going to do this amazing Luca, Grucci Prosecco to pair with chefs lobster. So with this Prosecco you get sense of beautiful golden apple and pear on the nose. On the palate. It’s fragrant, aromatic and delicate with a crisp, dry finish that goes great with results. So cheers and say hello, and we hope to see you soon at Wines & More in Cranston.