Scallops, Rissotto, Green Beans and Seattle Mushrooms

The Wife and I both love mushrooms and I couldn't resist bringing some delicious white chanterelles back from the farmer's market in Seattle.  Typically, they will run about $20-$29 per pound here in San Francisco.  I was shocked to find them for $8 a pound in Seattle.  I just wish that we bought more...

Aside from mushrooms, the Wife loves scallops and mussels (we'll be cooking mussels soon).  When we got back from our weekend away we had one night together before the Wife had to leave for another work trip.  I decided to make one of her favorites, seared scallops with sauteed mushrooms, risotto, and green beans (I was going to make asparagus but it was $9 a pound!).  

For tonights dinner  for two you will need:

1/2 lb of mushrooms (any kind you like)

1/2 lb of green beans

1/2 lb of scallops (or more if you're super hungry)

4 cloves of garlic

1/3 cup arborio rice

4 cups stock (I used chicken)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 shallot (or 3 tablespoons of diced onions)

1/2 cup white wine

1 tablespoon parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons of butter

olive oil

salt and pepper 

It's best to get started on the risotto first, it takes a while to cook and is definitely a little labor intensive.    Prep all of the ingredients: dice the onion or shallot, chop the garlic, and trim the ends off of the green beans.

The key to good risotto, is to slowly add broth one ladle at a time.  Add the broth to a stock pot and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer.  You want to add the stock without bringing the temperature down in the other pan with the rice.  

In a separate pan, heat 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and a 1/2 tablespoon of butter.  Add the shallots and saute for a minute to soften, then add the garlic and cook and additional minute or two until fragrant.  Add the rice and cook for 2 minutes, try not to brown too much.  

Next, add the white wine to the hot pan.  Scrape up any bits from the bottom.  Add some lemon juice, if using fresh lemons use just 1/2 of a good size lemon.  Let the wine and lemon juice cook off, this probably takes 3 minutes.

Finally, begin to add the stock one ladle at a time and continuously stir the risotto.  This is what gives the risotto that rich and creamy texture.  You might notice that my spoon below has a circular hole in the middle of it.  It's actually a risotto spoon, if you make this dish a lot it's a good investment.  I think it was $5 at Sur la Table.  Basically, the spoon helps create more texture by forcing the rice through the hole while you stir.

Continue to add the stock to the risotto until you get the desired texture.  This typically takes about 30 minutes.  You can't rush the process, so don't turn up the heat.  You want to cook over medium.  To finish the risotto, add a bit of parmesan cheese towards the end, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Next, you are going to want to cook the green beans as they take the longest out of the remaining components.  Unfortunately, I made a rookie mistake and forgot to take pictures.  I like to steam the green beans until just about cooked, then transfer to a saute pan and finish with some olive oil, salt and pepper.  

For the mushrooms, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large pan and 1 tablespoon of butter.  Then add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper.  Don't mess with them too much, you want the mushrooms to have space to breath and give them time to sit in the pan without stirring so they brown.

While the mushrooms cook, prep the scallops.  You'll want to first grab a paper towel and pat the scallops dry so that they properly sear.  Then season with salt and pepper.

After 5 minutes or so the mushrooms should be getting close to done.  Continue to cook down until they are soft, golden brown, and delicious.

The scallops only take a few minutes to cook so save them to the end.  Just add some olive oil to a hot pan and sear on each side for 1-2 minutes tops.

Flip the scallops with a pair of tongs and brown on both sides.

To serve, place a bed of risotto on the plate and top with a few scallops.  Then add the vegetables and you're done.  It's as easy as that.  

Tonight's dinner was prepared while listening to Crosby, Still, Nash & Young's first live album: 4 Way Street.  It's a good thing that it's a 4 sided album since the risotto takes so long...  

One tip, is that the risotto can be made in large batches and is just as good after a couple of days.  All of the other ingredients take no time at all to make.  If you have some leftover risotto in the fridge you can cook up the scallops and veggies in a few minutes and have a really fast weeknight dinner.