Spicy Seafood Risotto

Fall, or a prelude of Fall, came with a bang this year. From searing heat, sunshine and 90F it became cold, rainy, and gray. Not much of an Indian summer so far, but we can always hope, right? Fall weather changes my appetite, and risotto is one of my favorite fall foods. This one tries to preserve the summer heat and spirit by using hot chili peppers and Trader Joes frozen seafood mix. On the good news side of this fall, all of Maine looks forward to the opening of a long-awaited Trader Joes market in Portland, ME, by the end of October 2010. 

Ingredients:

1 small white onion, finely diced

1-2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1 TB butter

100g/3.5oz arborio rice

a few glucks of dry sherry

1 spicy chili pepper, cut into thin slices
a few strands of saffron 

500ml of shrimp bouillon (dissolve a Knorr shrimp bouillon cube in 500ml boiling water)

cup of frozen Trader Joes seafood mix (fresh shrimp, calamari, scallops)

Parmesan, freshly grated.

Dissolve the butter in a large heavy skillet. Don't brown it, just melt it. Add the onion and garlic, and saute until translucent (not browned!) and add the risotto rice to toast it in the onions, garlic and butter mix for 3-4 min on medium-low heat. Add the sherry, and simmer until the sherry has evaporated. Add a laddle (ca. 1/2 cup) of the shrimp bouillion to the risotto, stir, and let simmer on low until the liquid is evaporated. Then, add another laddle (the bouillon should be hot). Do this until the rice is soft and most of the stock has been used, ca 20-25min. Now, add the seafood, and cook for 2-3 min until shrimp are cooked, have turned pink and into the shape of a 'C' ("C" is for 'cooked', an "O" would be for "overcooked). Grate parmesan cheese into the hot risotto, and serve.