Smokey, sweet, creamy, tangy and little salty with a slight kick. It has all of the things that I need in my meal. The best part of it is how simple it is to make. But it looks fancy. So you can make it for a special dinner or if you are like me, make for a random Tuesday. Something needs to make Tuesdays special.

Now the hardest part of this recipe is to try to not eat all of the crisped bacon while you are waiting for you risotto to finish up. It was a struggle, but I behaved myself this time. Other than that, like I say with all of my recipes have fun with it. If you don’t like shrimp, no one says you cannot use another seafood. And if you don’t like seafood, who’s to tell you you cannot use chicken tenders cooked up in that butter and old bay?

I have to say the combination of smokey salty bacon with sweet pops of corn is the best. And while I am making it in the summer where you can find corn readily available, there is no shame in using frozen corn. I have a bag of super sweet corn kernels in my freezer at all times. I actually used it this time, I wasn’t happy with the condition of the corn I was finding.

Now grab yourself a glass of wine, put on some music, and make your dinner special. Enjoy!

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Bacon and corn risotto with old bay butter shrimp

Course date night, dinner, Main Course, special occasion

Keyword Casual dining, Dinners, old bay, rice, risotto, shrimp, simple elegance, special occasion

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

Risotto

• 2 rashers thick cut smokey bacon cut into lardons (small strips)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 2 cups arborio rice
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 6 cups stock may need a little more (seafood, chicken, vegetable)
• 1 cup sweet corn kernals
• 3 tbsp heavy cream My little cheat to keep it creamy, traditionally you finish with butter
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese shredded a little more to top
• 1 tbsp parsley chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Butter old bay shrimp

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 pounds U10-U12 shrimp Deveined I left the peel on, but peeled and tail on is fine too. About 4 per person
• 2 tbsp old bay
• 1/4 cup dry white win
• 1 tbsp parsley chopped

Instructions

Bacon and corn risotto

• Take 2 rashers of very thick bacon and slice into lardons and place into a cold pan and put over medium heat to render the fat and crisp the bacon.
  
• Remove the bacon and drain off most of the fat leaving about 1 tbsp. Meanwhile place stock into a pot and heat to simmer.
  
• Add 1 tbsp olive oil, onion, and garlic, salt and pepper. Cook 2-3 minutes to soften.
  
• Add arborio rice to the onion garlic and stir to coat the rice with the fat. Add 1 cup of white wine. I usually put the heat to medium low.
  
• Stirring let the wine absorb into the rice and then start adding stock. A couple ladles at a time, stirring frequently until it absorbs then add more.
  
• This usually takes about 20 minutes until the rice is al dente.
  
• With the last ladle of stock I add the corn.
  
• When the stock is almost absorbed, add the crisp bacon. Adjust salt and pepper.
  
• Then finish with heavy cream, parmesan and parsley.
  

Butter old bay shrimp

• In a saute pan over medium to medium high heat melt butter and add shrimp.
  
• Season with old bay, turning after about 3 minutes. Cook another 2-3 minutes and then add white wine. Finish with parsley
  

Notes

I chose to not peel my shrimp. I just find that it holds more of the butter, wine and old bay. But if you are making this as a special meal I would peel the shrimp but leave the tails on to make this easier to eat.