Seared Gulf Grouper Risotto

By Chef Cory Bolton | Seafood: Fish

What you need

Ingredients: 10-12 c. homemade (or reduced sodium) chicken broth; 2 tbsp. olive oil; 2 tbsp. + 1 tsp. butter; 1 medium onion, chopped; 2 1/2 c. risotto rice; 1 c. dry white wine; Salt to taste; Black pepper to taste; White pepper to taste; 1/2 c. parmesan cheese, freshly grated; 1/2 c. butternut squash purée; 1/4 c. white wine vinegar; 2 tbsp. shallot, finely chopped; 1/3 c. heavy cream; 2 sticks (1 c.) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces and chilled; Grouper filets (7-8 ounces each)

Steps

1.

For Risotto

2.

Bring chicken broth to a simmer in a medium pot. Keep at a simmer, covered, over low heat.

3.

Heat the olive oil and 2 tbsp. butter over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed 8-qt. pot. Add onion and sauté, stirring occasionally, until translucent and beginning to turn golden, about 10 minutes. Add rice and sauté, stirring constantly, until just the edges of the grains look translucent, about 3 minutes.

4.

Add wine and 1/2 tsp. salt and cook, stirring, until wine is completely absorbed by rice. Add about 1/2 cup hot broth to rice and cook, stirring constantly, until broth is completely absorbed by rice; reduce heat to medium-low if mixture starts to boil. Continue adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until each addition is absorbed before adding the next, until rice is just tender to the bite (15 to 30 minutes; you will have broth left over). Keep rice at a constant simmer.

5.

Remove rice from heat and stir in 1/2 cup butternut squash puree, parmesan, pepper, parsley, remaining 1 tsp. butter, and salt to taste. For a looser risotto, stir in 1 to 2 cups remaining broth. Serve immediately, with more parmesan on the side for sprinkling.

6.

For Sage Beurre Blanc

7.

Boil wine, vinegar, and shallot in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until liquid is syrupy and reduced to 2 to 3 tablespoons, about 5 minutes. Add cream, salt, and white pepper and boil 1 minute.

8.

Reduce heat to moderately low and add a few tablespoons butter, whisking constantly. Add remaining butter a few pieces at a time, whisking constantly and adding new pieces before previous ones have completely liquefied (the sauce should maintain consistency of hollandaise), lifting pan from heat occasionally to cool mixture.

9.

Remove from heat, then season to taste with salt and pepper and 2 tbsp chopped sage and pour sauce through a medium-mesh sieve into a sauceboat, pressing on and then discarding shallot. Serve immediately.