This is something I came up with when thinking of a side for some blackened chicken thighs. I’ve made a few changes to the recipe over the years and settled on this being my favorite version. If you like Spanish rice, you have to give this a try. You can add any meat to it and it comes out great. I used shrimp for this; but, chicken, chorizo or a combination of any of them works great.
To make this you’ll need:
1 onion- diced
1 Serrano- diced
1 jalapeño- diced
2 green onions- sliced
4 toes of garlic – minced
Cilantros- chopped
Either 6 Roma tomato’s diced or 1 14oz can of diced tomato
Half to full pound of shrimp- pealed and deveined
1.5 cup of Arborio rice
4 cups of chicken stock
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
Cumin
Tajin
Salt pepper garlic powder
Blackened seasoning
To start off you’ll take a 10-12 inch skillet and heat it up. Additionally put the stock in a pot and bring it up to simmer.
Add olive oil and onion.
While the onion is cooking down dry the shrimp and season liberally with blackened seasoning and tajin
Season the onion with cumin, tajin, salt. Pepper and garlic powder.
When the onion is almost done add in the peppers and cook for another minute or two.
After the peppers begin getting fragrant add in the garlic, green onion and Arborio rice.
Toast the rice in with the onions and peppers until you notice a slight color change and the rice grains are completely coated with oil and seasoning.
After the rice has roasted start adding in the stock about a half cup at a time. Drop in the stock and stir the rice until it has absorbed, then add in more stock.
Repeat this process until the stock is half way gone.
When you are at the half way point, drop the tomatoes and shrimp into a small sauce pot with cumin and cook until the shrimp are almost cooked through. Don’t cook them all the way.
While the shrimp are cooking continue cooking the risotto.
When you notice the risotto has almost cooked completely. Add in the tomato and shrimp and fully incorporate it.
At this point the risotto should be almost done and the stock almost completely gone. The tomato sauce from the shrimp mixture should substitute for your last half a cup of stock. If you need more liquid go ahead and use up the stock. If not, drop in three-door tablespoons of butter and milk the heat.
Fold in the butter to help create a rich creamy rice.
Garnish with cilantro.
Enjoy!
This word perfectly with blackened fish or shrimp covered in a mango salsa