WEEK 40: YOUR BEST RISOTTO

Preserved Lemon and Spring Vegetable
Risotto with Grilled Pernod Shrimp

Photography by Sarah Shatz

    BY THE DOG’S BREAKFAST | SERVES 6 TO 8

A&M: We’ll never turn down a spring risotto that’s flush with asparagus and peas, but we’ve come to expect a rich and buttery dish that tamps down the seasonal embellishments. Not so here—The Dog’s Breakfast, who described this risotto as a “celebration of the verdant flavors of asparagus, pea, fennel and mint,” uses anise-scented Pernod and lemon juice to brighten the rice and broiled sweet shrimp to underscore the clean flavors in the asparagus and peas. Plan this dish for your next dinner party (and save the shrimp portion of the recipe to grill for weeknight dinners).

    SHRIMP

    24 to 32 large deveined shrimp, shell on

    3 tablespoons olive oil

    2 tablespoons Pernod, or other anise apéritif

    3 garlic cloves, minced (about 1 tablespoon)

    Zest of ½ large lemon

    2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary leaves

    1 teaspoon kosher salt

    ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

    RISOTTO

    1 bunch asparagus, woody stems removed, cut into 2-inch lengths

    6 to 8 cups chicken stock

    ¼ cup olive oil

    2 medium onions, chopped

    1 small fennel bulb, chopped

    4 garlic cloves, minced (about 1 tablespoon)

    Fine sea salt

    2 cups Arborio rice

    ½ cup Pernod, or other anise apéritif

    ½ cup lemon juice

    3 tablespoons unsalted butter

    ½ cup mascarpone

    2 tablespoons rinsed and finely diced preserved lemon rind

    ¼ cup coarsely chopped mint leaves

    2 cups peas (frozen are fine)

    Freshly ground white pepper

1. In a shallow dish just large enough to hold the shrimp, mix the shrimp with the olive oil, Pernod, garlic, lemon zest, rosemary, and salt and pepper. Let the shrimp marinate at room temperature while you make the risotto.
2. Prepare all the risotto ingredients: Blanch the asparagus for 1 minute in salted, boiling water and set aside. Heat the stock in a medium saucepan over low heat. Have everything measured and close at hand by the stove. Once you start stirring risotto, there’s no stopping.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the onions, fennel, and garlic and sweat over low heat for about 10 minutes until soft and translucent. Season with salt to taste, about halfway through.
4. Add the rice and raise the heat to medium-high. Stir to coat and slightly toast the rice, about 3 minutes. You should hear a lively crackling in the pot. The rice will take on a shiny, translucent coat.
5. Add the Pernod and lemon juice to the rice and continue stirring until the liquid is almost completely absorbed.
6. Add a ladleful of hot stock to the rice and continue stirring. It’s important to regulate the heat at this point. The rice should neither boil vigorously nor cook too slowly. You’re looking for an even, medium heat that gives the rice a billowy loft and brings some bubbles to the surface.
7. As the stock is absorbed, continue adding it by ladlefuls and stirring. If you watch carefully, you’ll see that toward the end the rice really gives itself over to the liquid, releasing its starch to make a kind of cream. Stop incorporating stock once the rice is creamy but still al dente, cooked but not too soft. This should take between 20 and 30 minutes, and between 6 and 8 cups of stock.
8. Remove the risotto from the heat and immediately fold in the butter, mascarpone, preserved lemon rind, most of the mint (save some for garnish), the peas, and several grinds of white pepper. The heat of the risotto will cook the peas. Stir slowly to blend, check a final time for seasoning, and carefully fold in the asparagus. Put a lid on the risotto and let it rest while you prepare the shrimp. The risotto will expand slightly in volume, and take on a marvelous sheen.
9. Grill or broil the shrimp for about 60 seconds on each side, or until the flesh is completely opaque.
10. Top each serving of the risotto with 4 shrimp, garnish with the remaining mint and a flourish of pepper, and serve.

Photography by Sarah Shatz

    TIPS AND TECHNIQUES

    The Dog’s Breakfast said: “We love this with grilled shrimp, but well-seared scallops or fillets of black cod or sea bass will also do very well. Depending on the saltiness of both your stock and the preserved lemons, you may need to use up to a tablespoon of salt in this recipe. It’s best to add a little at a time throughout the process, tasting as you go, and seasoning one last time if necessary before serving. You can replace the preserved lemon rind with the zest of a large lemon, but reduce the amount of lemon juice by half if you do. Following the ban on absinthe in 1915, anise-based liqueur became the favorite long-drink of French gourmands from Paris to Marseille. Pour one-fifth liqueur to four-fifths water over ice, and serve little picholine olives on the side. Sunshine in a glass.”

        How to preserve lemons, by The Dog’s Breakfast: “Cut 4 or 5 medium lemons almost in half lengthwise, then make a second cut perpendicular to the first, exposing four ‘quarters’ of flesh. Sprinkle the flesh of each lemon with a generous tablespoon of kosher salt, and then stuff them into a jar just large enough to hold them. Really squish them in. Let the jar sit overnight on the counter. In the morning, if the lemons aren’t covered with exuded juice, add enough fresh lemon juice to cover them. Put a lid on the jar and put the jar in the fridge. Shake it well once a day, and after about two weeks you’ll have preserved lemons. You can add things to the lemons—coriander or fennel seeds, Old Bay spice, fresh bay leaves, and so on. Works really well with limes, too.”

    ABOUT THE COOK

    David Rollins and Robert Lee live in Montreal. Together, they produce the blog The Dog’s Breakfast (www.the-dogs-breakfast.com)—Rollins writes and Lee takes care of the visuals.

        Their favorite recipe from a cookbook: “Bob Blumer’s Caesar salad dressing from The Surreal Gourmet. We’ve been making this at least once a month for the past eight years. Could make it blindfolded, and still can’t believe how good it is.”

        Their favorite cooking tip: “Learn to salt. We use three different salts in day-to-day cooking: a kosher salt, a fine sea salt, and fleur de sel. Feeling, seeing, tasting, and eventually knowing which salt to use, in what amount, at what moment, has taught us a lot about how to build flavor into a dish.”

    WHAT THE COMMUNITY SAID

    BrooklynBridget: “I just have to say, this recipe just keeps on giving! Last night, used same flavor combination with green beans, kale, and pasta. So so lovely and light.”

        The Obsessive Cook: “This was wonderful! A great excuse to finally use the preserved lemons I made a month ago. For a little decoration I sprinkled some of the wispy leaves from the fennel on top. Worked nicely and tasted good.”