Crab Risotto ( with a garlic wine sauce)
This creamy, velvety, and delicious crab risotto is topped with a delicate, but flavorful garlic butter wine sauce, and served with a generous amount of meaty crab.
Servings 3 people
Ingredients
Risotto
- 3 tbsp butter
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 1 shallot minced
- 1 cup arborio rice
- 3/4 cup white wine dry
- 4 - 4 1/2 cups chicken broth warmed
- 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
Crab Garlic White Wine Sauce
- 9 tbsp butter kept cold
- 8 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup white wine dry
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme optional
- 1 lb jumbo lump crab
- 1/4 cup parsley chopped
- 1 lemon wedge approx. 1/4 of a lemon
Instructions
Risotto
- Place the broth on the stove on low heat to keep warm.
- In a wide pot on medium-low heat melt the butter. Once melted add shallots, garlic and approx. 1/2 tsp of salt. Sweat and cook down for 2-3 minutes until fragrant and soft. The garlic should not be brown, at any point it starts to brown lower the heat.
- Add arborio rice and mix to combine. Toast rice for 3-4 minutes until it starts to become translucent.
- Add the wine and stir. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the wine is almost non existent.
- Add the first round of broth. Depending on the pan add broth until it just covers the risotto. (could be 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups). Give it a quick mix, a shake of the pan to ensure all grains are covered and cook until rice absorbs the majority of the broth. Mix 2-3 times each round of broth. Don't worry if you mix more. It terms of seasoning after the first round taste it (avoiding the rice), if it needs salt start with a heavy pinch (1/4 tsp) and go from there.
- Add more broth and repeat above steps.
- Once all broth has been added, but not completely absorbed (15-18 minutes of cooking) give it a taste. The rice should be loose, yet al dente. If the rice has too much of a bite add more broth, about 1/4 cup at a time. Once al dente add the Parmesan cheese. Mix to incorporate.
Crab Garlic White Wine Sauce
- Drain and dry the crab with a paper towel to absorb all the moisture.
- To a skillet add 1 tbsp of butter, leaving the rest of the butter in the fridge. Add the garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes until it is soft and fragrant.
- Deglaze with wine and reduce for 6-8 minutes, it will have reduced by half. Throw in the thyme and slowly add the cold butter one by one. Continuously whisk as the butter slowly melts into the sauce. Once one tbsp is half melted add another, and another. The sauce will begin to emulsify and thicken and will be cloudy in appearance.
- If the sauce begins to break add an ice cube and pull the sauce off the heat and whisk. This will lower the temp and bring the sauce back together.
- Once the sauce is silky and light golden in color add the crab, parsley and gently fold, careful not to break up the crab
- Serve the risotto immediately with a generous helping of crab and sauce ladled over.