If you want a great recipe idea that doesn’t risk upsetting a sensitive stomach, then look no further than this parmesan risotto with garlic prawns from reality TV star and singer Megan McKenna.
“A creamy risotto loaded with Parmesan and juicy prawns is a great combination,” says Megan, who suffers from coeliac disease and has authored a book of gluten-free recipes.
“It’s so rich in flavour, you don’t need much of it on your plate. A glass of white wine complements this meal beautifully.”
Parmesan risotto with garlic prawns
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 750ml gluten-free chicken stock
- 60g unsalted butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, 2 crushed, 2 finely chopped
- 240g carnaroli rice
- 125ml dry white wine
- 150g Parmesan cheese, grated
- 4tbsp double cream
- Zest of 2 lemons
- Juice of half a lemon
- Olive oil, for frying
- 2 bird’s eye chillies, deseeded and finely sliced
- 12 large raw peeled prawns, deveined
- Sea salt flakes and black pepper
- Lemon wedges, to serve
Method
- Pour your stock into a saucepan, bring to a simmer and keep warm. Place half your butter in a separate saucepan over a medium heat. When melted, add your onion and cook for four minutes, until slightly softened.
- Add your crushed garlic and cook for one minute.
- Stir in your rice and one teaspoon of salt and cook for about three minutes, stirring often, until the grains start to become translucent. It’s really important to keep stirring, so your rice doesn’t stick!
- Add white wine and stir for about two minutes, until the pan is almost dry.
- Add a cupful of your warm stock and continue cooking and stirring until most of the liquid is absorbed; this will take about four minutes.
- Continue adding the stock a cup at a time, allowing each addition to be almost fully absorbed before adding
the next. - When all the stock has been used up, the risotto should be moist but not loose, with al dente grains.
- Take the pan off the heat and stir in your Parmesan, cream, lemon zest and half the lemon juice, one teaspoon of pepper and the rest of your remaining butter.
- Taste and season with extra salt if you like.
- Place two tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan over a low heat, add your chillies and chopped garlic and leave to infused for one to two minutes.
- Add your prawns and cook
until they are nice and pink; about
three to four minutes should be enough to do it. - Serve your risotto in shallow bowls and top with the prawns, making sure to leave any excess oil in the pan. Squeeze over the remaining lemon juice and add a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
- Sprinkle the chillies over the prawns and add a wedge of lemon on the side of the bowl with the risotto.
For more menu inspirations like the risotto with prawns from Megan McKenna, take a look at our other Midweek Meals.
Can You Make That Gluten-Free? by Megan McKenna is published by Hamlyn, priced £20. Photography by Louise Hagger. Available now.
