Risotto and Shrimp

I learned how to cook risotto and shrimp for dinner with my family and I am so thrilled to be able to start learning some more of my family’s and friend’s recipes!!!  The risotto turned out great, it was super creamy and very very soft!!!  I added chopped up little pieces of a purple onion and mushrooms in the risotto at the beginning as well as a little bit of parmesean cheese which smoothly melted into it towards the end!!!  Cheesy goodness is always wonderful!

I was actually quite surprised by how much the rice changed in texture and how many different variations of rice textures there seem to be.  You really can have it range from lighter and fluffy to wetter and sticker as well as softer and creamier depending on how you cook it.  Based on looking at it I would have thought that risotto would be made with a cream sauce and lots of cheese but we actually cooked it by adding in chicken broth and not too much cheese.  So the creaminess is really coming from the rice itself.  The onions and mushrooms add a little bit more flavor and slightly different textures mixed in as well.

For the shrimp I haven’t really cooked any shrimp myself yet but the first thing I notice is the strong smell you are hit with from the shrimp when preparing them.  They start out grey when they are raw and then as you cook them they quickly turn to a light orange/pink color which helps you to identify when they should be done.  Shrimp are very interesting because I really thought they would be a different texture and was surprised that they are actually a little bit more rubbery texture and a little denser than I would have thought.  We cooked them really nicely in a lemon sauce with garlic and onion and parsley which gave it a lighter and brighter flavor!

Overall, this turned out really well and I am excited to try making these again!