Quick and Delicious Dinner - Fennel Risotto and Arak Scallops

Before I cooked my first risotto, I always thought of it as a very complicated and time-consuming dish - for no particular reason there seemed to be some magic in turning simple grains of rice into creamy delicious goodness. I've had many different risottos in various restaurants - truffle, seafood, veggie, etc, and all were absolutely delightful. Of course, as is usually the case with me, my admiration for risotto and my excessive curiosity (you know, the one that made me make sushi with raw fish at home one day, and foie gras pate - the next) eventually pushed me to investigate the magic behind it. Ends up, it is actually very easy! It is certainly an involved process as you have to be at the stove all the time while cooking it, but in no way is cooking a risotto complicated. Today I decided to make fennel risotto, and to go with it I decide to cook scallops, and as a finishing touch and to extend the anise flavor of fennel, scallops will be flambeed with Arak. Let's begin!

Fennel Risotto

Add some stock (I am using chicken stock) and water to a pan - about 3-4 cups altogether per a cup of rice. Heat the pan and keep stock warm.

Remove stems from fennel, use bulb only, but you may want to reserve a few of the fronds (leaves) to add to the finished dish.

Chop the bulb.

Finely cut one shallot. I prefer to use shallots in risottos for more delicate flavor, but a regular yellow onion will work as well.

Heat some oil (I'm using olive today) in a heavy pan. Cook onions and fennel for a few minutes, until they begin to soften.

Then add rice and stir to coat each grain until edges of the grains become translucent, few minutes.

Now start adding stock, about 1/3-1/2 cup at a time, stir the rice.

Keep stirring until all liquid is absorbed, when it is, add more stock.

Repeat until rice is cooked, 20-30 mins - risotto should be creamy, rice should be al dente. Season to taste.

If you used vegetable stock, this is a totally vegetarian dish and can be enjoyed on its own. I however like to pair risotto with delicate texture and flavor of scallops.

Scallops

I intend to serve risotto, topped with some sliced fennel and then flambeed scallops. So before we get to scallops, slice one fennel bulb.

Sautee in butter for a few minutes, until fennel softens a bit, but still retains some crunchiness.

For scallops, season with some salt on one side, sear.

Flip the scallops.

Pour some arak in a glass. NEVER EVER pour hard alcohol (above 40%) onto a hot pan directly from the bottle!

Now is the fun part - add arak from the glass to the pan.

If alcohol doesn't ignite from the hot pan, light a match and bring it to the side of the pan. NEVER light over the pan!

Wait for flames to die down and serve the scallops.

Place risotto on the plate, put some fennel slices on top, then add scallops and garnish with fennel fronds.

This dish can be done in about 30-40 mins, which in my book counts as fast, and it is very tasty and nutritious - you have your vegetables, grains, some fats (oil and butter) and protein (scallops). Enjoy!