KING PRAWN AND ASPARAGUS RISOTTO

This dinner stands against a lot of things I am a great believer of (so excuse my being a hypocrite on this one occasion). None of the ingredients are in season, none of them are British, some are frozen and this is by no means a wintery, comfort meal. But I decided I'd treat us to something a little posh. Something that reminds us of warm summer days in order to forget the current icy temperatures. Oh and simply because I really, really, really wanted prawns.

Seafood risotto is usually something I'll order when we go out to our local Italian. Something I'll have alongside a large glass of wine and indulge in, reminding myself along the way that this is a treat and I cannot have it every day.

So yesterday, after we spent a good couple of hours cleaning our kitchen we rewarded ourselves with this yummy dinner of deliciousness and a large glass of G+T.

Just in case you fancy a bit of a posh dinner date for two but can't be arsed to leave the house. Here it goes.

SERVES 2
PREPARATION 5mins
COOKS 30mins 
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INGREDIENTS

• 150g risotto rice
• 12 king prawns, defrosted
• 7 asparagus stalks, cut into small chunks, set the tips aside
• 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 600ml fish, chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 glass white wine (150ml)
• 1 lemon
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• a handful of chopped parsley
• salt and pepper to season
• olive oil
• 1tbsp butter (optional - you can just add more olive oil)

PREPARATION METHOD

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan. Once hot fry the onions, celery, garlic and chili flakes until the vegetables start to soften. This will take about 5 mins.
2. Add the butter and keep stirring until it's all melted. Add the rice and stir until it's well coated and starts to go slightly translucent.
3. Pour over the wine and simmer, stirring continuously for about 3 minutes. You will see the starch being released from the rice and the liquid will start to thicken slightly.
4. Add a little bit of the stock, stir and leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes. Stir occasionally and keep topping up with stock when the mixture starts to look a little dry. Make sure you always have enough liquid in the pot so it doesn't stick. After 10 minutes add the chopped asparagus (not the tips) and stir.
5. In the meantime heat a little olive oil in a pan. Once the oil is very hot, add the asparagus tips. Fry on each side for about 2 minutes, until the asparagus starts to brown. Sprinkle with some sea salt and deglaze the pan with the juice of 1/4 lemon. Set aside for later.
6. Once your rice has been cooking for about 15-20 minutes add the prawns and half the chopped parsley. Stir, until everything is well incorporated.
7. After about 20 minutes your rice should be done. The rice should still have a little bite to it with a smooth, velvety consistency. If you feel it's still too hard, cook for a few more minutes, adding a bit more stock if necessary. 
8. Taste for seasoning, squeeze in the juice of 1/4 lemon and serve topped with the remaining parsley and the asparagus tips. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

I usually don't have cheese in my seafood risotto or pasta, as I find it too heavy and it distracts from the delicate flavours of the prawns and asparagus. But if you fancy it, knock yourself out and add some Parmesan or Pecorino. 
This dish goes sooooo well with a nice zingy Gin and Tonic, some candlelight and a nice date ;)

Enjoy!