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Italian · V The Canonical Dishes · Veneto

Risotto con la crema di scampi — Adriatic coast

‹ Veneto

I

Origin

Adriatic coast — scampi (langoustines) are the most prized crustacean of the Adriatic. In this risotto, a cream is made from pounding the shells and heads into a paste with butter, creating a concentrated langoustine butter that is stirred into the rice.

II

Description

Langoustines are separated — tails peeled and reserved, heads and shells pounded in a mortar with butter to make a scampi butter. This is strained through a fine sieve. Rice is toasted in olive oil with garlic. White wine is added. Fish broth is added in ladlefuls. The langoustine tails are sautéed briefly and placed on top. The scampi butter is stirred into the nearly finished risotto. Finished with olive oil and parsley.

III

The Thread

—Both draw the flavour of crustacean shells and heads into the dish, the bisque by cooking them down and passing them through a sieve, the risotto by pounding them with butter. In the bisque the shell flavour makes the whole soup, thickened with rice or cream; in the risotto it is a butter stirred in at the end, so the rice stays distinct and the tails are served whole. French
—The French kitchen likewise pounds crustacean shells with butter and sieves the result to make a flavoured butter for finishing sauces. The principle is the same, fat carrying the fat-soluble flavour of the shell, but in the French preparation the butter is usually melted into a sauce, whereas here it is mounted into rice. French
—Both cook rice in the flavour of a crustacean and bring the shellfish itself to the table with the rice. The Spanish rice is cooked in a broad pan in a stock made from the shellfish and is left undisturbed, while the risotto is stirred constantly with broth added in ladlefuls to release the starch and give a creamy texture. Spanish
IV

Flavour Context

Intense, concentrated langoustine from the shell butter — sweet, briny, and complex. The sautéed tails on top provide the meat. The shell butter in the rice provides the depth. Together, every part of the langoustine contributes.

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