recipes: seafood risotto & crab stock

after cooking up a bunch of crab (one of the perks of living in PNW), i took advantage of the giant bowl of crab shells and took my first spin at making crab stock. i thought it would be as easy as chicken stock - throw some bones in, add some veggies, but it was like a full recipe in and of itself. it only seemed like the right thing to do to make a baller seafood risotto with all the delish broth we had. 

i pulled the stock recipe from Simply Recipes, and the risotto recipe from Epicurious.

ingredients list - seafood risotto: 
- 4-5 cups seafood stock (recipe below)
- 1/3  cup olive oil
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 small onion, minced (1/2 cup)
- 1 & 1/3 cups arborrio rice
- 1/2 cup dry white wine (i used Savignon Blanc)
- 8-10 mussels, scrubbed and debearded 
- 6 medium sea scallops
- 1/2 cup peeled, crushed, and seeded plum tomatoes
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1/2 tsp chopped garlic
- 1 tbsp brandy
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- salt & fresh group pepper




to make - seafood risotto:
in medium saucepan, warm the the seafood stock (bring to just under a boil & keep warm).

in large pan over moderately low heat, warm the olive oil. add 2 tbsp butter and add the onion, and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. add the rice and toast lightly for 1 minute. add the wine and cook until absorbed. add most of the stock (to about 1/2 inch above the rice) and bring to a simmer. stir frequently.

add the mussels, scallops, and tomatoes, continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the seafood is cooked and rice is al dente, about 6 minutes. adding in 1 cup of stock, stirring until completely absorbed, and repeat until all stock is gone. 

in a separate pan, salt & pepper the scallops, and pan fry quickly on each size (about 1 minute per side); add to rice / mussels pan. 

remove the risotto from the heat and add the parsley, garlic, brandy, olive oil, parmesan cheese, and remaining tablespoons butter. stir well and season to taste with salt and pepper. 

ingredients list - shellfish (crab) stock:

- 4-6 cups crab shells (shrimp/lobster - anything will work)
-  1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 yellow onion, sliced or chopped
- 1 carrot, roughly chopped
- 1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- Several sprigs of parsley
- 1 bay leaf
- 10-15 whole peppercorns
- 2 tsp salt

to make - shellfish (crab) stock:

put the crab shells in a large stock pot, and cover with enough water so that there is about 1 inch of water above the top of the shells. place on medium high heat, and keep a careful eye on the water -- as soon as little bubbles start to hit the surface, reduce heat to medium. do not let it come to a full boil (lower the temperature, if needed, to maintain the barely-boiling temperature).

as the bubbles come to the surface a film of foam will develop - use a large slotted spoon to skim away the foam (which is actually impurities from the shells). after the stock has stopped releasing foam, add the wine, onions, carrots, celery, tomato paste, thyme, bay leaves, parsley, and peppercorns. reduce heat to low, and simmer for about an hour. add salt to taste when simmering is complete. 

dampen a few layers of cheese cloth and place over a mesh strainer, over a large pot or bowl. discard all the solids, and either use the stock immediately, or refrigerate or freeze for future use.