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Fresh Corn and Snow Crab Risotto

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Fresh Corn and Snow Crab Risotto

This luxurious crab risotto combines sweet snow crab meat and fresh corn to produce a delicate, elegant dish that will delight your guests.

Fresh Corn and Snow Crab Risotto // FoodNouveau.com

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When spring returns every year, I’ve got a long list of things I’m excited to see again: the sun and warmer temperatures, of course, but also asparagus, fresh green peas, rhubarb, and snow crab.

Snow crab is an animal that lives and is harvested in northern oceans—from the coasts of Newfoundland, in Canada, to Greenland and all the way to Norway. It also lives in the Pacific ocean, around Alaska and in the Sea of Japan.

Since snow crabs are found in abundance off the coast of Canada, it’s a super-popular springtime delicacy where I live. In late March and early April, you’ll see fishing companies announcing the return of snow crab season, and people go wild for it. In my hometown, fishmongers receive mountains of snow crab legs and they sell out in record time: in fact, people queue outside before opening hours to make sure they’ll get their share for their annual snow crab party.

A plate of snow crab legs with lemon // FoodNouveau.com

But snow crab season is fleeting, so it’s essential to make the most of it while it lasts. At home, we’ll usually put together a snow crab feast, during which each guest will dig into their sections of crab legs, which they’ll eat lightly sprinkled with lemon. Snow crab meat is so sweet and delicious, it doesn’t need much more seasoning than that! Yes, it makes for a messy dinner party, but cracking those legs and hunting for every last piece of succulent meat is a huge part of the fun.

Once we’ve satisfied our seasonal craving, I can go on and make actual recipes with that snow crab meat. Some of my go-to recipes that make the most of this luxurious meat are crunchy crab cakes, chowder, and this elegant corn and crab risotto.

Fresh Corn and Snow Crab Risotto // FoodNouveau.com

When you cook with snow crab meat, it’s important not to use overly strong flavors with it because the mild but exquisite flavor of the meat would get completely lost. To make this crab risotto, I use top-quality seafood stock that I buy frozen at my local fishmonger. Even though there’s no cheese in this dish, it’s still deliciously creamy, thanks to the starch released by the risotto rice. Corn adds a pop of color, and its sweetness underlines that of the snow crab meat.

This decadent corn and crab risotto is the most delightful dish for celebrating snow crab season—and one that’s sure to impress your guests!

Fresh Corn and Snow Crab Risotto // FoodNouveau.com


Helpful Tips for Making This Crab Risotto


My golden risotto-making rule: The very best ingredients make the very best risotto

As is often the case with simple, Italian-inspired dishes, using the very best ingredients you can get your hands on or afford makes the biggest difference in terms of the flavor of your final dish.

In this crab risotto, of course you should make sure to use fresh crab meat. You can use frozen crab meat, but make sure to thaw it completely at least 24 hours in advance and to press the meat dry between paper towels before you add it to the risotto. Crab meat retains a lot of water especially after being frozen, so you need to make sure to drain it completely to avoid turning your risotto watery.

In this crab risotto, I encourage you to try to find homemade fish or seafood stock at your local fishmonger, they often keep it in the freezer section. Homemade stock will impart a milder flavor to the risotto instead of stealing the spotlight, which I find canned fish or seafood stock tends to do. If you do use canned stock, I recommend diluting it 2/3 stock to 1/3 water. This will soften the flavors and leave centerstage to your main risotto ingredients.

Finally, use quality risotto rice for the creamiest textureArborio, Carnaroli, or Vialone Nano are all good picks.

Carnaroli rice, a high-quality rice variety used to make risotto // FoodNouveau.com

Using Cheese in seafood dishes: yay or nay?

Italians will often say cheese should never touch seafood dishes. In Italy, for example, you will never be served cheese over seafood pasta. Although I have nothing against using a bit of cheese in some seafood dishes, such as my shrimp risotto, I don’t think cheese is needed in this crab risotto. Adding an aromatic cheese such as Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino-Romano to the dish would completely overwhelm the delicate flavor of crab meat. I think this recipe shines bright on its own! It also has that iconic creamy texture, thanks to the starch contained in risotto rice.

Do I need to cook live snow crabs to make this risotto?

Snow crabs can sometimes be purchased live, but snow crab clusters, or crab legs, are most often sold raw or cooked (without the bodies.)

If you can find super fresh, raw snow crab legs, you can easily cook them by boiling, steaming, or boiling. This video demonstrates the different cooking methods.

Purchasing fresh or frozen cooked snow crab legs is more expensive but saves you the extra step of cooking the crab yourself. You can thaw frozen cooked snow crab legs overnight in the refrigerator and then simply pick the meat and stir it into this crab risotto.

You might find frozen raw snow crab legs in some grocery stores or at some fishmongers, but I do not recommend purchasing them, even if they are cheaper. Uncooked crab meat deteriorates considerably in texture when frozen, which means you won’t enjoy the recipes you make with it as much.

How to remove meat from snow crab legs quickly and efficiently

When you eat a plateful of crab legs, it’s fun to break into the shells and take your time picking that lovely meat out. When you make a recipe that uses crab meat, however, you might appreciate using a more efficient way to shell crab meat to shorten your prep time.

Here’s the most efficient way to pick snow crab meat out from the shells: Separate each leg, then break each leg into sections by separating them at the joints. Use a sharp chef’s knife to slice each section in two lengthwise. Snow crab shells are thin and so you can easily crack them with your hands, or in this case, a chef’s knife. Once the sections are sliced in two, you can easily pick out the meat.

You can use kitchen shears to slice through the shell, too! You can simply slice one side of each section lengthwise, then peel back the shells to expose the meat and pick it out. This video illustrates how to do that.

Can’t Find Snow Crab Meat? You can substitute other crab varieties.

If you can’t find snow crab legs or meat, you can substitute other crab varieties. Alaskan king crab is very close to snow crab in terms of flavor and texture. The main differences between king crab and snow crab are that the legs of king crabs are shorter and their shell is spiky and thicker.

Snow crab legs, to the left, are thinner and smoother-looking than king crab legs, to the right.

A comparison between snow crab legs, left, and king crab legs, right // FoodNouveau.com

King crab meat is a bit more robust compared to snow crab meat (the texture is more similar to that of lobster meat), which means it withstands freezing better than snow crab meat. Blocks or cans of picked and frozen king crab meat are pretty easy to find, so if you can get your hands on a quality product at your grocery store or local fishmonger, go for it: you won’t have to crack those legs yourself. Simply thaw, drain and use!

Some companies sell canned crab meat of outstanding quality. If you plan on using canned crab meat, look for “jumbo lump crab meat,” which is the highest quality and will taste the best in this crab risotto.

Whatever you do, never use imitation crab, or crab-flavored pollock, in this crab risotto. While that product is just fine for certain uses, such as crab salad, it’s flavor and texture just isn’t good enough to be served in a delicate dish such as this crab risotto.

How to Scale Up this crab risotto recipe to serve more guests

Most risotto recipes serve 4 to 6, with ingredient quantities that are hard to split into halves or thirds. This has always annoyed me because I usually make risotto for 2 people. So I’m writing all my risotto recipes to serve 2, which means the math is easier to scale up the ingredients to serve 4 or 6 guests. Note that this crab risotto recipe produces a generous 2-serving yield—you could stretch it to 3 servings if this dish is part of a more elaborate menu that includes appetizers and sides.

 

 

Fresh Corn and Snow Crab Risotto // FoodNouveau.com

Fresh Corn and Snow Crab Risotto

This luxurious crab risotto combines sweet snow crab meat and fresh corn to produce a delicate, elegant dish that will leave you asking for more.
Prep Time:10 minutes
Cook Time:25 minutes
Total Time:35 minutes
Servings 2 servings

Ingredients

To Serve

Instructions

  • In a small saucepan, bring the stock to a simmer, then keep warm over low heat.
  • In a large saute pan or a cast-iron braiser set over medium-low heat, melt the butter in the olive oil. Add the shallot and cook, stirring, until soft, 3 to 4 minutes.
  • Add the risotto rice and stir for 2 minutes, until the grains are translucent around the edges. Add the wine and stir vigorously while the wine is bubbling up, scraping down the bottom of the pan to loosen the caramelized bits. Simmer until the wine is fully absorbed.
  • Add 1 ladleful of the stock and simmer, stirring from time to time, until the stock is almost completely absorbed.
  • Continue adding broth, one ladleful at a time, allowing each ladle to be absorbed before adding more. When there's about 1 cup (250 ml) stock left, stir in the corn kernels and stir to incorporate. Add ½ cup (125 ml) broth, stir and keep cooking until the broth is almost fully absorbed.
  • Stir in the lemon zest and juice, lightly season the risotto with black pepper, taste, and season with salt if needed. Stir in the remaining broth, then gently stir in the snow crab meat to keep the lumps intact.
    The risotto should now be loose and super creamy. Cover and turn off the heat. The risotto can stand for about 5 minutes but should be served as soon as possible for the best texture.
  • SERVING: Serve the crab risotto in warm bowls, then garnish each serving with a drizzle of flavorful extra-virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of minced chives.
  • STORAGE: This crab risotto is best enjoyed within minutes of being made. If you do have leftovers, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 days. To reheat, transfer to a nonstick skillet, add a couple tablespoonfuls of broth or water and warm up over medium-low until the risotto is loose and hot. Serve immediately.
  • NOTE: Fish or seafood stock is perfect for fish or seafood-based risotto because its rich aromas underlines the flavors of the fresh produce from the sea.
    The best fish and seafood stocks are frozen when freshly made: ask your local fishmonger, chances are they have some in the freezer.
    You will also find seafood stock in the soup aisle, sold in tetrapaks, just as chicken stock is.

Did you make this?

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Author: Marie Asselin

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

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