As often happens with my recipes, this risotto with shrimp and artichokes was born out of the need to use up foods I had in the freezer. In fact I had a few shrimp and some cod frozen, too few to make a second course though.
So I thought of making a nice seafood risotto. Obviously, as I often do, I wanted to include some vegetables and here was another leftover in the fridge: some frozen artichoke bottoms that needed to be used.
What can I say? The result is a balanced dish, very tasty, light and very filling that can be a one-dish meal. If you want to save time you can omit the cod and use double the shrimp, although for me the cod adds much more sea flavor to the dish. Let’s look at the recipe.
Other light seafood first courses are here:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: 13 Servings
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter and Spring
Ingredients
- 1 1/8 cups brown rice
- 8.5 oz shrimp (frozen, already cleaned and peeled)
- 12.3 oz cod (frozen fillet)
- 8 frozen artichoke bottoms
- 2 shallots
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
- as needed granulated fish bouillon
- as needed chili pepper (optional)
- as needed parsley
- as needed salt and pepper
- Points per serving = 11 WW points
Preparation
Boil the artichoke bottoms for about 6 minutes in lightly salted water, drain, let cool and cut into pieces.
Slice the shallots, garlic and chili.
Thaw the shrimp and cod for about 15 minutes and then pat them dry with paper towels. Cut the cod into pieces.
In a pan, sauté the garlic and chili with 1 teaspoon of oil and then add the shrimp and cod for about 5 minutes.
In another pan, sauté the shallot with 1 teaspoon of oil and then add the artichoke bottoms in pieces, season with salt and cook covered over low heat for about 5 minutes.
Add the rice to the artichokes and toast for 1 minute, stirring.
Add the fish bouillon and a little boiling water; alternatively use fish stock.
When the rice is halfway cooked add the shrimp and cod and continue cooking until done, adding water as needed.
At the end adjust the salt and sprinkle with a little pepper if you like.
Serve the risotto with shrimp and artichokes on the plate with some chopped fresh parsley: delicious!
It’s a very fragrant and flavorful dish that everyone at the table will like. The brown rice and artichokes make it very filling, thanks to the high fiber content in these foods.
Of course, if you want to serve the classic risotto, just use Arborio or Carnaroli rice; the points don’t change much, so I’ll leave the choice to you.
And as mentioned before, you can skip the cod and double the amount of shrimp. I’m waiting for your photos here in the comments or in our lovely Facebook group
Enjoy your meal!
by Giovanna Buono
