This saffron risotto with scallops and shrimp is a great dish for a romantic date night at home! It comes together in about 30-40 minutes, making it a reasonable option for a weeknight meal as well. The saffron adds such a unique and compelling flavor that the seafood needs hardly any seasoning. Plus, the combination of saffron and seafood is always such a winner (see our paella recipe for more of this combo)!

Risotto always gets a bad wrap for being a challenging dish to master. Anybody ever watch Gordon Ramsey yell at a bunch of chefs about undercooked risotto?? The key is to use the right amount of heat and liquid, and to keep stirring! Once you get a feel for it, you’ll come to find that it’s a delicious and comforting dish that’s not as hard as everyone makes it out to be.

For our recipe, we use a lobster or seafood stock (no need to make your own, we use this base which has the perfect flavor) with saffron, white wine, garlic, and shallot. Although saffron can be expensive, a little goes a LONG way. We have found better deals ordering saffron online from Amazon rather than in store. We highly recommend buying Spanish Saffron, as we’ve it found to have the best quality and taste. Fun fact – saffron is one of the most expensive substances by weight, costing up to $5,000/pound. It takes roughly 150 flowers to produce only 1 gram of dried saffron! So, really a little goes a long way.

We enjoy our risotto with some green peas. It also pairs well with asparagus. We opted for shrimp and scallops to serve ours with, but this, again, is personal preference. This saffron risotto would pair well with almost any seafood of shellfish. If you really want to impress a date, lobster would pair beautifully. Seabass, Halibut, calamari, or even clams would all be delicious as well.

Saffron Risotto with Scallops and Shrimp

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Servings: 4 people

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 Shallot Minced
• 1 Clove Garlic Minced
• 1 Cup Arborio Rice Unrinsed
• 1 Cup White Wine
• ½ Teaspoon Saffron Threads
• 3 Cups Seafood Stock
• ½ Cup Frozen Peas
• ½ Cup Parmesan Cheese Grated, plus some extra for topping
• 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
• ½ Teaspoon White Pepper
• 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter

Shrimp and Scallops

• ½ Pound Scallops
• ½ Pound Shrimp Peeled and Deveined
• 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1 Teaspoon White Sugar
• ½ Teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Method

 

1. Heat up the olive oil in a large skillet over low-medium heat. Add in the minced garlic and shallot and cook for about 3-4 minutes.
2. Next, add in the Arborio rice and stir to coat the rice well in the oil.
3. Add in the white wine and saffron threads and continue stirring for about 3-5 minutes, or until the white wine has reduced significantly.
4. Next, start adding in the seafood stock about ½ cup at a time, stirring constantly during this process. Wait until most the liquid has absorbed before adding another ½ cup. Repeat until you have used nearly all of the stock and the risotto has taken a creamy and slightly sticky consistency and the rice is no longer a crunchy texture. This should take about 25-30 minutes.
5. While the risotto is cooking, heat up a separate skillet over high heat.
6. Toss the shrimp and scallops in the olive oil, salt, pepper, and sugar.
7. Sear the shrimp and scallops in the skillet, being careful not to overcrowd the pan, for approximately 2 minutes on each side. Set aside until the risotto is finished.
8. Once most of the liquid has absorbed, stir in the frozen peas, parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste into the risotto. Continue stirring for another 2-3 minutes to allow the peas to thaw.
9. Take the risotto off the heat and stir in two tablespoons of butter. Serve with some extra grated parmesan cheese and the seared seafood.