EUREKA! Head-on Shrimp; Part III

At long last, I think I’ve found the holy grail of shrimp risotto. It might just be that dark orange substance in the shrimp head that takes the risotto to a higher level.

As you may have read in my previous posts (March 27, 2023 and September 21, 2022) we now use head-on shrimp for most of our cooking whenever it is possible to use whole shell on shrimp. But, on Sunday we were preparing the meats and sauces for fondue so we had to cut the heads off in order to prepare them for ready-to-eat skewering and deep frying. My initial thought was to simply make a stock with the heads and use it for various soups and sauces at a later date.

But, lets, take a minute to go way way back in memory-land to 1988 when Tom Noto and I walked for miles and miles around Rome. While heading back to our hotel we came across a fabulous seafood smell emanating from a restaurant. We went in and asked what we were smelling. We were told initially that it was the roast lamb, but, when I suggested something from the sea, our waitress said it must be the shrimp risotto that we were smelling. We both ordered the shrimp risotto and to this day I can still see, smell and taste the wonderfully creamy textured rice bathed in an all-enveloping orange colored sauce. Well, for the past 35 years, I’ve tried many approaches to shrimp risotto and never quite have found that special something that came close to my memory of Rome.

I tried making shrimp broth using every trick in the book, even adding cream to broaden the palate texture. But, no matter what I did, it fell well short of my recollections. Everything I attempted just seemed to lack soul and that umami sense of luxuriously rich mouth coating flavor. So, after cutting off all the heads of the shrimp on Sunday, the light bulb came on! What would it do to my risotto if I made the stock from shrimp heads instead of shells and legs? Eureka!!!!

It was so long ago now that I cannot say for sure that I’ve duplicated the dish that Tom and I enjoyed in Rome in 1988, but, it certainly has the magic. Here is what I did:

I took the shrimp heads ( a dozen very large ones) plus the shells and legs and sautéed them in butter. I then scraped out the heads to retrieve any bits of meat that remained in or on the heads and set that aside. I then added to the pot a quart of “shrimp water” which I always save after poaching shrimp for shrimp cockails. Besides the shrimp flavor, this water also contains a little Old Bay seasoning, chicken bouillon and white or rosé wine. Once it was simmering, I added a half a cube of shrimp bouillon, a half cube of vegetable bouillon and a few tablespoons of tomato paste. After about a half hour, I strained the liquid and sautéed a bit of garlic in the pan, drenched it with water and when hot poured it over the shells and heads in the strainer to remove the garlic chunks and rinse any remaining good flavors off the shrimp and into the stock.

Then I made the risotto beating the Arborio rice almost continuously while adding the hot broth about a half cup at a time for about a half hour. At the point where I’d used up all my shrimp broth, the rice still was a bit toothy so I added more boiling water until it was soft enough to eat. At that point, I added back the bits of meat and orange stuff, some hot peppers (green and red) and cooked it another couple of minutes. In this instance, I also added some corn which we had cut off the cob the night before. It was just a bit out of season so not quite tender enough for great corn-on-the-cob but perfectly fine to add to the risotto. This is purely optional. It was simply a way to use up leftovers. I then added more shrimp chunks from a few large poached shrimps along with some chopped scallions. We topped the risotto with parmesan/pecorino Romano and it was absolutely delicious. Best ever! It had all of the fine smooth texture, depth of flavor and that elusive umami. Perfecto!

With this wonderful dish, we enjoyed a really nice Pinot Grigio. It seems lately that I’ve encountered more and more really good Pinot Grigio both white and rosé (see Pinot Grigio at the Sailing Club, May 14, 2023). This 2022 Villa Borghetti “Grigio Luna” Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie DOC Rosé (12% abv) ITALY $6.99 at Trader Joe’s was as good as any Pinot Grigio in memory. Besides an explosion of fresh bright citrus-like fruit, it is balanced by soft texture and skin extract one would expect for a true red grape based rosé. The color is a true “gris / grigio / gray” color with just a very light hint of coppery orange pigment. Good stuff!

So, now, what do we do with leftover shrimp risotto? We didn’t have enough for a second meal but too much to toss out. So, it looks like today’s lunch will be risotto fritters over garden greens with a saffron sauce*.

Enjoy in Good Health!

Brian Cain, the Michigan Vintner

*This was every bit as good or maybe even better than the risotto! The key was the saffron sauce from Ina Garden’s recipe for lobster fritters with saffron sauce.