Anne Morgan You need no stirring at all for Delia Smith’s baked prawn risotto recipe, her Tiger Prawn Risotto with Lobster Sauce for 2. The onion softens in butter, then the rice bakes in lobster bisque and sherry for 35 minutes. At the end you add the prawns, Gruyère and cream and grill it, and the whole dish takes about 1 hour.
In How to Cook Book Two, Delia counts it as a cheat’s recipe. The oven does the work, and a jar of ready-made bisque makes the sauce.
Her website prints the same recipe for 2, from her Complete How to Cook. It sits there with her recipes for two and her St Valentine’s Day ideas.
Her chicken risotto with livers and mushrooms works the other way. It cooks on the hob, with the stock added a ladleful at a time.
Delia Smith’s Baked Prawn Risotto
Course: DinnerCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy2
servings10
minutes50
minutes1040
kcalArborio rice baked in lobster bisque and dry sherry, then finished with tiger prawns, Gruyère and cream under a hot grill.
Ingredients
- For the risotto:
40g (1½oz) butter
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
175g (6oz) risotto (arborio) rice
1 x 780g jar lobster bisque or French fish soup
75ml (3fl oz) dry sherry
salt and freshly milled black pepper
- For the topping:
175g (6oz) cooked peeled tiger prawns, defrosted if frozen
50g (2oz) Gruyère, finely grated, plus a little extra to serve
2 tablespoons whipping cream
- To serve:
a few sprigs of watercress
Directions
- Oven: Heat the oven to 150°C, fan 130°C, gas mark 2. Put an ovenproof dish, 23cm square and 5cm deep, in the oven to heat up.
- Onion: Melt the butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Cook the onion in it for 7 to 8 minutes, until soft.
- Rice: Stir in the rice so every grain gets a coat of butter. Pour in the lobster bisque and the sherry, season, then stir well and bring it up to simmering point.
- Bake: Pour everything into the hot dish. Bake it, uncovered, for 35 minutes.
- Grill: Near the end of the baking time, heat the grill to its highest setting. Take the risotto out, taste it for seasoning and add the prawns.
- Finish: Scatter the cheese over the top and drizzle over the cream. Grill for 2 to 3 minutes, until the cheese is brown and bubbling.
- Serve: Serve it straight away, with the watercress and the extra cheese on top.
Notes
- Her Italian Collection lets you use fontina in place of the Gruyère.
FAQs
Can I use raw or other prawns?
Other prawns are fine, but they must be cooked first. Her Italian Collection allows any medium-sized prawns, so long as they are cooked, peeled and defrosted.
The prawns only warm through under the grill, so raw ones will not cook in time. For raw prawns in their shells, I’d dry-fry them until pink, then peel them. That is her method in her prawn cocktail recipe.
What can I use instead of lobster bisque?
French fish soup, which is Delia’s own swap. Her Italian Collection says lobster bisque or a luxury fish soup.
If you can’t find the 780g jar, her Lobster Risotto on her website uses two 415g tins of lobster bisque. It takes the same 175g of arborio rice.
Arborio or carnaroli rice?
Either works. This version uses 175g of arborio, and her Italian Collection uses carnaroli, measured to the 175ml mark in a measuring jug.
Why did my baked risotto go thick?
It was probably left to wait. In her Lobster Risotto, which bakes the same way, Delia warns that it gets too thick if it hangs about.
So she serves it the moment it comes out from under the grill. I’d have the plates warm and the watercress ready before the cheese goes on, my own tip.
Can I make it with lobster?
You can. Her Italian Collection uses 200g of squat lobster tails in brine, drained, added at the same point as the prawns.
Her website version goes further. It uses 2 tablespoons of vermouth instead of the sherry, lemon juice, and Gruyère with Parmesan on top, then bakes for 45 minutes. Its headnote adds that cooked dressed lobster works too, and it is widely sold at Christmas.
Can I make it without a frying pan?
You can, and her Lobster Risotto shows how. She heats the empty dish in the oven for 5 minutes, then softens the butter and onion in it for 10 minutes.
Then she stirs the rice into the hot dish and adds the bisque, so everything cooks in one dish. That version bakes for 45 minutes, not 35, so allow the extra time.
Can it serve 4?
Yes, as a starter. Her Italian Collection serves the same amounts to 4 as a starter, or 2 as a main course, in a smaller 18cm square dish.
For 4 main courses, I’d double everything and use 2 dishes, my own call.
