Brown Butter & Crab Risotto

Peel and devein your prawns, keeping the heads and shells in a bowl.

Finely chop the shallots and grate the garlic into a bowl. Keep the trimmings of the garlic and shallots aside.

Add a glug of oil in a saucepan and fry the prawn shells and heads until they turn pink. Add in the garlic and shallot trimmings and cook for 30 seconds. Add in your fish stock and bring it to a gentle simmer.

Heat the butter in a small light coloured saucepan until it darkens in colour and smells nutty - a lighter coloured saucepan will help you see the colour change better. Remove from the heat.

Strain your fish stock and put it back on the hob.

Pour half your brown butter into a nonstick saucepan and sauté your shallots for 5 minutes on a low heat. Add in half your crab meat (the brown crab meat if using) and garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Pour in your risotto rice and toast for 30 seconds.

Deglaze the pan with your white wine and scrape any bits from the bottom. Cook for 3 mins or until the wine has been almost fully absorbed by the rice. Add a ladle of stock into your rice, and cook gently whilst stirring constantly until it’s absorbed. Add oin your prawns and continue adding stock until the rice is cooked - if you run out of stock you can top it up with hot water.

Warm the remaining crab in the reserved brown butter until crispy with a pinch of salt and finely chop your chives.

Finish the risotto by stirring in the crème fraîche, a squeeze of lemon, and grate in the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper, top with the crab, sprinkle on the chives, and eat immediately.