Pesto Risotto + Seared Shrimp + Roasted Tomatoes

It's Friday!  I'm having a great workday at home that involves a lot of cooking, and I JUST finished making a batch of this dish for a client.  I made it for the first time last week for our dinner, and DAYUM flavortown is upon us with this one.  

So, I added it to my catering weekly menu and sold a couple of batches.  

I'm a little risotto'd out, but BEFORE I kick the habit for awhile felt like you needed to know about this recipe.  

We're making a plain risotto.  Then we infuse it with a quick homemade pesto.  Then we top it with seared shrimp in white wine butter and roasted tomato sauce.  

I mean, please.  PLEASE.  Don't stop the beat.  And all that jazz.  

Let's make it!

For the risotto, you need Arborio rice, butter, garlic, onion, cherry tomatoes, veg or chicken stock, shrimp (mine are thawing in water here), lemon wedges (zested, wait for it), fresh parmesan, white wine, and fresh spinach.  

For the pesto, you need fresh basil, garlic, parmesan, olive oil, and lemon zest, which unfortunately looks like an empty dish but I PROMISE it isn't.  

Risotto takes about half and hour to make, which is SUPER CONVENIENT because roasting tomatoes takes about the same amount of time.  So, let's start the tomatoes first!  Halve the cherry tomatoes and toss them on a baking sheet with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt.  Stick them in an oven at 400F while you make the pesto and risotto.  

Now, pesto!  If your pine nuts aren't toasted, toast them in a dry skillet over medium heat until they're nice and golden - watch them carefully so they don't burn.  

Add the basil, parm, garlic, lemon zest, and toasted pine nuts to a small food processor.  

Then, stream in the olive oil.  Add a pinch of salt, too!

Zip the pesto until it's smooth - if it's really thick add a drip of water to thin it out.  Taste the pesto, and add some salt if you think it needs it.  

Now, onto the risotto!  Add the butter to  pan over medium heat, then finely chop the onion.  

Add the onion to the butter with a sprinkle of salt and crushed red pepper, if you'd like.  

Stir the onion to let it combine with the butter and start cooking.  Meanwhile, mince the garlic.  

When the onion is cooked but not browned, add the garlic and the rice to the skillet.  Stir for 2 minutes to coat the rice in the butter and start cooking the garlic.  

Then, add MOST of the wine.  

Save an inch or so for the shrimp - we'll cook those right at the end.  

Now, stir the rice until the wine cooks out completely, then you know the drill!  Add stock ⅔ cup or so at a time, stir until it's gone, then repeat until you've used about 4 cups of stock.  I like to do half stock and half water, but if you'd like to use all stock try to get the low sodium kind - otherwise your risotto may be too salty. 

While the risotto is cooking, prep the shrimp - peel them if they aren't already, and lay them on paper towels to dry.  

Shave the parm into thin pieces, too.  Pretty for garnish!  I do all these little extra steps in between adding and stirring - you only need to stir the risotto about half the time, so the rest of the time is perfect for getting the other ingredients ready!

Check the tomatoes, and remove them from the oven when they're browned at the edges and wilted.  Yum!

Now, taste the risotto to be sure the rice is cooked after about 25 minutes of adding stock and stirring.  When the rice is cooked through, turn a separate skillet to medium-high heat for the shrimp, and add the pesto and spinach to the risotto.  

Stir the greens into the rice, and taste - add more salt if needed, then turn the heat off the risotto while you get the shrimp ready.  

Add the shrimp to the hot skillet with the rest of the butter - the skillet should be very hot and the shrimp should sizzle immediately.  Sprinkle them with salt.  

After a minute or MAYBE two, turn the shrimp - they should be golden on the first side!

As soon as you turn the shrimp, add the reserved wine to the pan and stir to scrape up all the bits from the bottom of the pan.  

Then.  Serve.  Make a bed of risotto, heap on some shrimp, and top with a few roasted tomatoes, some extra pine nuts, some parm shavings, and a lemon wedge!

I mean, COME ON.  This kind of reminds me of lunch at a fancy restaurant at the beach or something.  In summer.  Where it's warm.  And there's no work or stress or ANYTHING.  

This is total weekend food, and extremely delicious.  GO FOR IT with the 1,938 toppings, too.  They're worth it!

Enjoy this.  Enjoy Friday.  Enjoy the WEEKEND.