Some New Adventurous Flavors

I've had the apartment to myself for almost a week now, and I have been going out of my mind. Sunday I was bored with myself and the television, so I decided to make a somewhat elaborate dinner to occupy my time. Here's what happened:



Coconut mango risotto with shrimp and cilantro pesto.

Marinate the shrimp with lime juice, olive oil, cilantro, jalapeno, garlic, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Allow to sit for about 15-20 minutes, and then saute for about two minutes on each side.

Risotto is one of those recipes that sounds complicated, but is actually very simple to prepare. The general concept is to add the liquid slowly, while stirring somewhat frequently, to create a creamy consistency. In a big saute pan or pot, saute onions in olive oil, add garlic, and then stir in as much risotto as you'll need (remember that it will plump up as you add more liquid) and toast for about one minute. Flavor with salt and pepper. Now, add some liquid; for this recipe I used one can of light coconut milk. Stir fairly often, as the milk has a tendency to burn and the rice may stick to the bottom of the pan. Once the liquid seems to have been absorbed by the rice, add some more, stir, and repeat this process until the rice is tender, about 18 minutes. If you run out of coconut milk and the rice is still not cooked through (which is what happened to me) just use some water. Once the rice is done, stir in chopped mangos.

Now for the cilantro pesto: blend fresh cilantro, pistachios, olive oil, lime juice, salt, and pepper in a food processor or blender (or, if you're old schoool, use a mortar and pestle). Typically pesto is made with parmesan cheese; since I didn't have any on hand, I left it out and it came out just fine.

Put it all together: risotto on the bottom, shrimp on top of that, and the pesto at the peak. I realized that I didn't have any vegetables in this dish, so I garnished with baby heirloom tomatoes.

I hope this recipe keeps you company like it did me!