Snow Crab Meat Risotto

Place a stock pot large enough to hold 6 cups of stock over medium heat. Once it boils, turn off the heat. You need the stock to be hot when adding it to the rice. You will need a separate large stock pot to cook the risotto.  

Place the stock pot over medium heat. Add in 1 tablespoon avocado oil (or your favorite cooking oil), when it ripples add in the shallots. Stir the shallots and cook until translucent. Lower the heat if you feel they are cooking too fast and at risk of burning. This takes about 5-7 minutes. 

Add in 1 tablespoon of butter, let it melt and next, add in the rice. Give it a good stir, so it is well coated with the liquid. Next, add the black pepper, thyme leaves, and lemon juice. Give it another good stir. So, up until now, this is the traditional way to cook risotto. Here is where things take a turn.  

When you add in the hot stock to the risotto, instead of adding enough to just coat the rice we are going to add a bit more. How much more? Make sure the rice is covered with the stock and add about ½ cup more. Give it one good stir and let the liquid cook down. Occasionally stir, though you don’t have to stir continuously. Add in your next batch of stock when the rice has almost absorbed it all. You never want it to become dry. You will continue this process for the next 15-20 minutes. (can you imagine if you had to stir this the entire time?) 

The risotto is done when the rice is still a bit firm, however it is no longer bright white inside. How do you test it? Take one out and cut it open and look or taste it. You can taste it when risotto is done because it has a little al dente bite but is mostly just creamy. If for some reason you have used all the stock and you feel it is still not done cooking, you can switch to water or simply reheat more stock up. 

When the risotto is just about to your desired doneness, and most of the stock should be used, lower the heat and add in the parmesan cheese and 1 cup of the shredded snow crab. Give it a good stir. If you want to add more snow crab, go for it. Now taste for salt. Correct if you want more. However, be careful as you can always add salt later to this dish and it's impossible to undo oversalting. 

To assemble, place a ring mold on your plate and pack in the risotto. Carefully remove it by lifting upward. Top it with a few of the whole pieces of snow crab meat. Or use a bowl as described above. 

Important note when scaling this recipe: 

The ratio to consider when scaling up this recipe: 1 cup of arborio rice requires 4-6 cups of stock. Be conservative and heat up 6 cups so you don’t have to do that during the cooking process. 

If you want to use plain rice: 

Cook it according to the manufacturer's instructions and once you have fluffed with a fork add in: 1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter, ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon thyme leaves, 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, 1 cup parmesan, 1 cup shredded snow crab (minus the garnish) and fluff until everything is well combined. Follow the assembly instructions above. 

If you want to use left over rice:  

Heat up the rice and add the same ingredients from the plain rice instructions. Follow the assemble instructions above. 

Other ingredients to add: 

Green Peas (add them in halfway through so they don’t get soggy) 

Sliced mushrooms (add them in with the butter in the beginning) 

Diced zucchini (add with the butter)