Scallop Risotto with Lemon & Sweet Peas

Scallop Risotto with Lemon & Sweet Peas is the perfect romantic dinner to make at home to celebrate Valentine’s Day, an anniversary or other special occasion.

Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope that you all have fun plans to celebrate the occasion – Whether with your significant other or with girlfriends. We will be headed out to a local restaurant here in Portland to celebrate with bubbles, oysters, and a 4-course seafood feast. I don’t know what it is about seafood, but it just hits me as the best way to celebrate special occasions. Well… That and bubbles…

If you’re staying in this Valentine’s Day, may I suggest cooking up this special dish? I prepared it a couple weeks ago for a wine company that I’m doing some freelance work for. Creamy risotto is livened up with a bit of fresh lemon and lively tarragon, setting the “bed” for these perfectly seared scallops.

You’re guaranteed to win hearts with this dish…

Scallop Risotto These Seared Scallops with Sweet Pea, Lemon & Tarragon Risotto are the perfect romantic dinner recipe to celebrate Valentine's Day or other special occasion. | platingsandpairings.com

This scallop risotto is also a perfect dish to cook as a couple as one of you can be working on the risotto, while the other can be setting the table, popping the bubbles, and searing the scallops at the last minute. Just add red roses and candlelight… It might even be a good idea to check if your local market carries fresh-shucked oysters. They’d be the perfect way to start things off.

And to finish, may I suggest either this Crème Brulee or these Butterscotch Bourbon Budinos with Salted Caramel Sauce? With both of these desserts, the work can be primarily done ahead of time, leaving you free to just enjoy your evening with the one you love.

Do you tend to stay in or go out for Valentine’s Day? I’d love to hear how you like to celebrate in the comments below!

Serving suggestions

Wine Pairings for Scallop Risotto:

  • An unoaked Chardonnay would be perfect with this risotto and scallops – It’s butteriness and hints of citrus will pair very nicely.
  • Pinot Gris has a nice acidity will cut through the richness of the dish and help to brighten the citrus flavor even further.
  • Sparkling wine has an effervescence that mingles nicely with the rich, creamy flavors of the risotto. Here are some budget friendly sparkling wine options.

Looking for more scallop recipes? Try these Seared Scallops with Fennel & Blood Orange.

If you loved this Scallop Risotto recipe I would appreciate it so much if you would give it a star review! Also, be sure to snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #platingsandpairings and tagging me @platingsandpairings.

For more great Platings and Pairings recipes, be sure to follow me on Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

More seafood recipes

More Risotto Recipes:

These Seared Scallops with Sweet Pea, Lemon & Tarragon Risotto are the perfect romantic dinner recipe to celebrate Valentine's Day or other special occasion. | platingsandpairings.com

Seared Scallops with Sweet Pea, Lemon & Tarragon Risotto

These Seared Scallops with Sweet Pea, Lemon & Tarragon Risotto are the perfect romantic dinner to make at home to celebrate Valentine’s Day, an anniversary or other special occasion.
5 from 27 votes
Print Pin
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

Risotto:

  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 4 cups bone broth (or chicken stock)
  • 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped leek (about 2)
  • 1/2 cup chopped shallot (about 1 )
  • 1 cup Arborio rice (uncooked)
  • 1/4 cup dry vermouth or white wine
  • 1/2 cup grated fresh parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
  • 1 Tablespoon butter
  • Salt and pepper (to taste)

Seared Scallops:

Instructions

  • Bring bone broth or chicken stock to a simmer in a small saucepan and keep warm over low heat.
  • Heat oil in a large saucepan or dutch oven over medium heat. Add leek and shallots to pan, cook until tender, about 7 minutes. Add rice and cook 1 minute, until it becomes translucent. Add vermouth and allow to evaporate, about 30 seconds. Stir in 1 ladle of stock and cook until the liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Add remaining stock, 1 ladle at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of stock is absorbed before adding the next (about 25 minutes total). Stir in frozen peas and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in parmesan, lemon zest, lemon juice, tarragon and butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  • In a large skillet, heat 1/2 cup of oil until shimmering. Pat the scallops dry and season with salt and pepper. Add the scallops to the skillet and cook over high heat until browned on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Add the butter to the skillet. Turn the scallops over and cook just until white throughout, 2 minutes longer.
  • To serve: Plate the risotto into four bowls, top each with three of the seared scallops. Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe?Mention @platingsandpairings or tag #platingsandpairings!

Nutrition

Calories: 732kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 46g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 551mg | Potassium: 300mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1195IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 179mg | Iron: 3.8mg

21 thoughts on “Scallop Risotto with Lemon & Sweet Peas”

  1. Ohmygosh! Can I come for some risotto?
    I am going to set my husband up to make this (i can’t cook while entertaining the babe) thanks for making my stomach growl so early today!

    Reply
  2. Hi Erin, love this. Would you like to share this with the other participants in Food on Friday over at Carole’s Chatter? I have a weekly link up party – each week there is a different ingredient or theme. The current theme is Scallops!

    You can see upcoming themes in one of the pages at the top of my home page. If you would like to join in the fun please schedule a reminder for each week. The collection starts at 7am Friday New Zealand time – which might be some time Thursday your time – aren’t time zones confusing? Well they confuse me! Hope to see you soon. Cheers, Carole

    Reply
  3. 5 stars
    We skipped the shallots and leeks because we’re not onion fans and we still had an incredibly delicious meal last night. Great recipe!

    Reply
  4. Lovely recipe and thank you for sharing, but my goodness forgive me for saying that all the ads and pop ups on your blog are distracting!

    Reply
  5. 5 stars
    Delicious! Made this , instructions were so simple to follow, usually my risotto so so heavy but this was lovely! The lemon juice broke through the richness!
    Will be making it again! Thanks ❤️

    Reply

Leave a Comment

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.