I visited friends and family in Atlanta this weekend and followed my usual habit of cooking them dinner on Sunday night. Volunteering to cook dinner on vacation? A sure-fire sign that you love to cook. Plus, my mom's kitchen is absolutely to die for. She has spent the past 15 or so Christmases, Mother's Days and birthdays collecting every kitchen gadget you could possibly want, which makes cooking in her kitchen fun.
This time I went out on a limb cooking an intricate seafood meal that I had never tried before - Roasted Grouper over Seafood Risotto with a Beurre Blanc sauce.
Those of you up for a cooking challenge...keep reading. The dish is to DIE for. You should read the whole recipe before you start cooking so you know what's coming next. This recipe has a lot of things going on at once, and it SO worth it.
Ingredients
Fish
2 tbsp canola oil
1 lb red grouper
salt & pepper
Seafood Risotto
2 tbsp e.v. olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic
2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 cups warm chicken stock
1 large fresh lobster tail, diced
1/4 lb fresh shrimp, peeled, deveined, diced
1 small yellow corn husk, use kernels
1/4 cup sliced leeks
2 tablespoons mixed herbs - chervil, tarragon, chives)
3 tablespoons diced tomato
2 tbsp unsalted butter
salt & pepper
Beurre Blanc
1 cup finely sliced shallots
2 cups dry white wine
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into pieces
salt & pepper
Okay, one of the hardest things about cooking is organizing the timing of each piece to make sure everything is ready at the same time.Your first step to making sure everything is timed appropriately is to be your own sous chef so you have everything you need for the dish already ready to cook.
Or convince your wonderful significant other to help out :)
First things first, preheat your oven to 450°.
Since the fish will cook quickly and the beurre blanc needs about 15-20 minutes to boil and let the wine cook out, I started with the beurre blanc to make sure everything would be timed out to be ready at the same time. Combine the first 8 ingredients needed for the beurre blanc in a 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. I'd suggest using a back burner, because you'll need to let this cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until liquid has almost evaporated.
While this cooks, start on your risotto. This part requires a lot of attention to make sure you are consistently stirring while it cooks, so use a front burner. In a large saucepan, heat 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add rice, and stir until the oil has coated it. Cook for 2 more minutes. Add wine and cook the mixture, stirring constantly until the wine is absorbed; about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup chicken stock and cook stirring constantly until absorbed; about 1 minute.
Seeing a trend yet? Keeping a consistent stir is important.
Repeat with 1 more cup of chicken stock; about 1 minute. Stir in
remaining 1 cup of stock, lobster, shrimp, corn and leeks and cook for 2
minutes.
Then stir in herbs, tomato, butter. Season with salt and
pepper, cover and set aside.
Your beurre blanc mixture should be about ready with most of the liquid having already evaporated. Reduce the heat to low and gradually add the butter. Mix after each addition until melted.
Strain mixture through a strainer and discard solids. Season sauce with salt and pepper, cover and set aside.
Remove fish from the refrigerator, rinse with water, and cut into 4 relatively even pieces. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Heat oil in an oven-safe, nonstick skillet over high heat for about a 45-60 secs. Place fish in pan, and reduce
heat to medium; cook for 2 minutes.
Transfer skillet to oven, and bake for about 5
minutes or until fish is just cooked through. (Remember the fish will continue to cook once out of the oven in the pan.)
Serve over Seafood Risotto
and Beurre Blanc. Enjoy :)
