Lobster Risotto isn't a dish you can only get at a fancy restaurant...you can easily make it right in your own home!
Lobster Risotta is one of my absolute favorite comfort foods. And why not? A combination of Italian rice and seafood...wouldn't that make anyone happy? We love lobster risotto in our house and you will love it too!
Looking for some other risotto recipes? Try my Creamy Parmesan Risotto and Asparagus Risotto.
Is it hard to make risotto?
I'll be honest with you...I was very intimidated the first time I made risotto. But after you cook it once, you realize it's really not that hard. The key to a good risotto is to warm the broth before you add it to the rice.
A warm broth will keep all the rice at the same temperature, while a cold broth may change the temperature of some of the grains and affect the cooking time. Having the grains at different temperatures means that some of the rice cooks faster, while some of the rice cooks slower. Therefore, warm your broth for optimal results.
How do you make lobster risotto from scratch?
Ok, let's get down to business and start making our lobster risotto.
First, add some butter to a pot and melt. Ok, don't kill me...but I like using a wok to make my risotto. It's so big and has so much room to mix everything all together. The Mini Guineas can eat me out of house and home, so I typically make 2 cups of Arborio rice when I make risotto and the wok gives me plenty of room.
If you're in the market for a good, large wok, try the 13" Calphalon. I've had it for over 10 years and it's still ticking!
Next, once the butter is melted, add some garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Then add some chopped onions and cook for about 2-3 minutes or so. You can use shallot instead of the onions here if you want...it's up to you.
Next, add the Arborio rice and toss everything together. You want to get all of the rice nice and toasty before you start adding the other ingredients.
Now comes the most important part...the wine! Use whatever white wine you like here but stay away from the sweet wines. Try and use something dry like a Pinot Grigio when cooking your meals and stick with desserts for the sweet stuff.
Michele likes this Mommy's Time Out Pinot, so I will typically cook with it (and drink a few glasses while doing that 🙂
Do I need to use wine when making risotto?
You don't, but why wouldn't you lol. Just kidding. No, I get that some people can't or don't like to use the wine and that's ok. Maybe just add a little white wine vinegar to give it the acidity it needs.
Now comes the monotonous part of the recipe...the stirring.
Let your wine fully absorb into the rice and start adding ladles of warm soup 1-2 at a time. I will typically just cover the rice with the broth, so depending on how much rice you're making, 1-2 ladles each time will be fine.
Keep adding your broth one ladle at a time. When one ladle is absorbed, add another. And so on….and so on! All the while you're stirring away...not continuously, but very frequently.
Keep ladling until you're done with the broth. You want to get to a point where you have a nice, creamy texture. One where the rice won't completely stick to the spoon, but one where it's not soupy either.
Once you get the texture, add your lobster (or langostinos in my case). Now, mine are already cooked so all I want to do is heat them through, but if yours are raw, you're going to want to steam or boil them separately and set them aside until it's time to add them to the risotto. However you want to do it is up to you.
Once the lobsters are heated through, add the rest of the butter, some parsley...and if you want...some grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.
And that's all there is to it. Whether you use the langostinos or lobster, you'll love the warmth this lobster risotto brings to the entire family!
Buon appetito!
How do you know when you’re lobster risotto is done?
Two methods I recently learned about are the spoon test and the smear test. Run your stirring spoon through the risotto in a straight line through the wok and when it slowly returns back to form, it’s done. Also take a grain of the rice and smear it on your countertop. It should be fairly easy to smear, but not to hard or easy.
Tools I used in this recipe:
- Calphalon Wok
- Red Copper Pasta Pot
- Pyrex Measuring Cup
- Pyrex Custard Cup
Recipe
Lobster Risotto
Ingredients
- 2 cup chicken broth
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- ½ cup onion minced
- 1 cup arborio rice
- ¼ cup white wine dry, crisp
- 6 oz frozen langostino tails can use lobster tails too
- ½ cup parmesan cheese grated, Parmigiano-Reggiano works too
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a medium-sized pot, warm the chicken broth. Keep warm throughout cooking.
- In a large skillet or wok, heat the butter and cook the onion for 1-2 minutes until soft.
- Add the rice, mixing until all the rice is fully covered by the butter. Cook for about 2 minutes.
- Add the wine, mixing frequency until all the wine is absorbed by the rice.
- Once the wine is absorbed, add the warm chicken broth 1-2 ladles at a time until the rice is covered by the liquid. Stir pretty continuously until all the broth is absorbed by the rice.
- Repeat the ladling/mixing of the broth until all the broth is gone.
- On the last ladle of broth, also add the frozen langostino tails to the pan.
- Once the last ladle of broth is absorbed, add the remaining butter, fresh parsley, and Parmesan cheese. Mix altogether until warm.
- Serve hot in a bowl. Top with extra Parmesan cheese if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
About The Skinny Guinea
Hey...how you doin'? I'm Tommy, The Skinny Guinea…just a busy dad who loves to cook. Offering easy to cook dinners and family friendly recipes, while always staying true to my Italian roots!
Great dinner for that special occasion