Creamy, buttery langoustine infused risotto – just so delicious. I am fortunate to have nashi pears growing in my garden. They are crisp and sweet and available for much of the year in Asian/Oriental supermarkets or grocers. My nashis do not compare to the superb specimens available in Korean market stalls but have served this dish well. Nashi pears have the outward appearance of apples as can be seen in the picture below. For added effect I have garnished the dish with a cherry tomato rose, tomato powder and leaves from the nashi pear tree. This recipe feeds four people as a main course.
Langoustines are a huge favourite of mine. They go beautifully with risotto. They also look simply irresistible on the fishmonger’s stall…and dare I say it…rather friendly!
For the langoustine stock
5 tbsp unsalted butter
1 onion chopped
Shells fro 12 langoustines, flesh carefully extracted and retained
18 oz (500 gms) baby clams
3 1/2 pints (2 litres) fish stock or water
In a large pan, sauté the onions in the butter for about 2 minutes. Add the langoustine shells and stir them into the butter and onions until they become pale. Add the clams then stir for another minute. Add the stock /water and simmer for about 30 minutes skimming off impurities. Strain the stock into a container.
For the risotto
5 tbsp unsalted butter
4/5 cup (200 mls) carnaroli rice
150 ml white wine
Prepared fish stock /water
4 tbsp mascarpone cheese
Sauté the rice in the butter in a medium size pan for about a minute. Add the wine then stir the rice for another minute. Slowly ladle the strained langoustine stock stirring the rice continuously so that its starch infuses into the risotto. Keep stirring and ladling in more stock until the rice reaches the perfect consistency, that is just soft enough to chew easily. Add the mascarpone cheese and stir it into the risotto.
Completing the dish
A knob of unsalted butter
Nashi pears, peeled and cut into cubes
Langoustine flesh
Sauté the nashi cubes in the butter for 30 seconds for each of the six surfaces. Set aside. Sauté the langoustine flesh in butter in the same pan until they are just cooked with a soft golden-red colour. Plate out the rice, nashis and langoustines and add the garnishes