Shrimp and Swiss Chard Risotto

Shrimp and Swiss Chard Risotto is creamy, cheesy, and oh so fancy. Risotto is incredible and an impressive dish to be able to pull off as a home cook. It is not complicated, it just takes some serious patience and stirring.

Risotto is best suited for a main course but can also be served as a side dish. Properly cooked risotto should have a creamy and slightly chewy texture, it should not be hard or crunchy.

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The Swiss Chard 

Swiss Chard is arguably the most mineral/vitamin rich superfood leafy green out there. It is rich in potassium, magnesium, and calcium. As for the vitamins, it is especially rich in vitamin K, but also has high levels of vitamins A & C.

You can use any variety of swiss chard for this recipe, rainbow, red or white.

The Shrimp

Low quality shrimp can ruin a dish. They also lack flavour and tend to be on the rubbery side once cooked. 

So be sure to choose high quality raw tiger shrimp. I love the Olivia Organic Raw Tiger Prawns.

How to tell if a shrimp is raw or cooked? 

This is easy, raw shrimp is grey in colour and cooked shrimp are pink! Either variety are widely sold at supermarkets everywhere. Choosing raw shrimp will let you develop a richer flavour with the spices. The spices will be cooked into the raw meat instead of onto the meat.

How do you know when raw shrimp is cooked?

Defrosted, raw shrimp will cook up in only about 5-7 minutes over medium heat. The shrimp will turn from grey to pink right in front of your eyes! When the shrimp is pink on the outside and white on the inside, they are fully cooked! 

Shrimp can also easily be overcooked and turn into a rubbery mess. This is why I prepare the shrimp after the risotto has cooked.

If you do cook the shrimp ahead of the risotto being finished, just remove them from the heat and stick a piece of aluminum foil over top. When you are ready to add them into the risotto, throw them back in the pan and heat them back up for a few minutes.

A fun fact about shrimp

This is a fun fact that is totally unrelated to food, but did you know, flamingos are pink because of all the shrimp that they eat in the wild!

How to cook risotto

DO NOT RINSE the arborio rice before you use it. This is one of the most important rules of risotto. Rinsing the rice will strip it of extra starch and starch is imperative for a successful risotto. 

In a small saucepan, bring the stock to a simmer. Keep it over low heat until ready to use. 

In a large saute pan or a non-stick wok, add 2 tablespoons of the butter and the extra virgin olive oil. Melt the butter and then add in the minced garlic, saute for 30 seconds. 

Now, add the arborio rice into the pan and stir to coat it in the butter and garlic. Stirring regularly let the rice cook until it is slightly translucent and starts to give off a “nutty” aroma, about 3-5 minutes.

This is when the constant stirring begins...

After the rice has slightly cooked add in the dry white wine and start stirring. Let the rice cook in the wine until all of the wine is absorbed into the rice. The wine should take about 4-5 minutes to fully asorb into the rice.  

Add one cup of the warm stock to the rice. Continue stirring until all of the stock is absorbed. It will take approximately 7-10 minutes for the stock to absorb. (If the stock is absorbing faster turn down the temperature of the burner, you don’t want it to cook too fast!)

Repeat the above step 3 more times, stirring continuously and adding the warm stock only one cup at a time. You should be left with 2 cups of warm stock.

Before adding the remaining stock, stir in the chopped swiss chard and let cook for 2 minutes, of course still stirring continuously. 

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Add all of the remaining stock (2 cups) and stirring continuously, stir until all of the stock has absorbed into the rice. 

Last but not least, stir in the parmesan cheese. Remove the risotto from heat and loosely cover with a lid or a piece of aluminum foil. 

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Preparing the shrimp

In a small fry pan, over medium heat, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter.

Add the oregano, garlic powder, and black pepper to the melted butter. Add the raw shrimp into the pan and cook for 5-7 minutes until shrimp are pink and thoroughly cooked. 

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After the shrimp are fully cooked, add them to the risotto and serve immediately. 

Conclusion 

Constant stirring is the key to a good risotto. Letting the risotto sit still for even just a few minutes can result in it burning. Then when you do stir it you might get a less than desirable golden crunchy layer of starch off the bottom of the pot. 

So grab a glass of vino, get some comfy slippers on and prepare to stand at the stove for about 45 minutes straight. (I promise, it will be worth it!!)

troubleshooting

Q: What is arborio rice and where can I find it?

A: Arborio rice is a type of short grain italian rice. It has a much higher starch content than normal everyday rice. 

Q: Where can I find arborio rice? 

A: Arborio rice is sold at most major supermarkets in the grains section. Otherwise take a look at your local Italian supermarket.

Q: Risotto is hard and crunchy?

A: If your risotto turned out hard and crunchy the stock was added too quickly. Try turning down the heat and cooking at a lower temperature.

We put a lot of work into our recipes, we would love to know if you tried this recipe and how it turned out for you!

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