![Basil and Tomato Fried Rice](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/08/01/dining/HM-tomato-and-basil-fried-rice/merlin_210026700_8232a93f-3b37-4eba-b072-7a544beaedfc-mediumThreeByTwo440.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
Riso al Forno With Crab and Shrimp
![Riso al Forno With Crab and Shrimp](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/02/01/multimedia/25tanisrex2-riso-khzj/25tanisrex2-riso-khzj-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 2tablespoons salted butter, plus more for greasing the pan
- 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1large onion, finely diced
- Salt and black pepper
- 1½cups carnaroli or arborio rice
- Pinch of crumbled saffron threads
- 2tablespoons tomato paste
- ¼cup dry white wine
- 4cups unsalted fish, chicken or vegetable stock, plus more as needed
- 1pound crab meat (fresh or canned, drained if needed)
- 1pound medium unpeeled shrimp, drizzled with 1 tablespoon olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper
- ¼cup bread crumbs, preferably coarse homemade
- 1cup crème fraîche
- 1teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1tablespoon finely sliced chives, plus more for serving
- 1small lemon, zested, plus more zest for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven at 375 degrees and butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
- Step 2
Put butter and olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Step 3
Add rice and continue to cook, stirring, until well coated. Add saffron and tomato paste, and stir well, then add wine and cook until evaporated, about 2 minutes.
- Step 4
Add 2 cups stock and adjust heat to a brisk simmer. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring every minute or so. When broth is absorbed, add 1 cup more and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Stir in the last cup of stock, and cook for another 5 minutes, until the rice is done but the grains are still firm. Add more stock if the rice looks dry. Taste rice mixture and adjust seasoning. Turn off heat.
- Step 5
Fold crab meat into rice mixture, and transfer contents of pot to the baking dish. Lay shrimp on top and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake for about 30 minutes, until golden. Meanwhile, combine crème fraîche, mustard, chives and lemon zest in a small bowl. Taste and adjust seasoning, as necessary.
- Step 6
To serve, spoon rice and shrimp into warm soup plates. Top each serving with a tablespoon of the crème fraîche mixture. If desired, sprinkle more chives and lemon zest over everything.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
I know that leaving the shrimp unpeeled may help keep the shrimp from over-cooking, and expands the flavor profile of the dish, but serving unpeeled shrimp to guests makes for a cumbersome and messy experience. Will using peeled, tail-on shrimp compromise the quality of the dish?
Some suggestions: Peel the shrimp and make a shrimp stock with the shells. Use that stock for the rice. Assemble the dish per the instructions, sprinkling the breadcrumbs over the crab rice mixture without the shrimp. Bake for 20 minutes. Layer the shrimp on top and bake for another 10 minutes. Serve as recommended in recipe.
Unpeeled shrimp with bread crumbs sprinkled on top ruin the dish for me. I don’t want to be peeling shrimp at the table- ever. Neither do my friends. Perhaps cooking the rice a tad longer on the stove and the shrimp on casserole a bit less.
I wholeheartedly agree with the other comments about serving this dish with unpeeled shrimp. Furthermore, what would be the point of topping the unpeeled shrimp with bread crumbs? Unless guests plan on licking the shrimp before peeling and perhaps even cutting their tongues on the shell (neither of which I want to imagine happening), an adjustment must be made to the recipe to use peeled shrimp.
I made this recipe last night for a dinner party for six. It was very well received. I peeled the shrimp ahead, and I used a bit over a pound. The shrimp did not dry out at all, just kept an eye on them, and probably didn’t keep it in for the full 30 minutes. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly as written. I highly recommend this recipe for its flavor and ease of preparation. A dollop of the sauce added a nice, bright zing!
I would fold the shrimp with the crabmeat and rice, if using peeled shrimp, and top the rice with the bread crumbs. Traditionally Italians add vegetables to riso al forno (I would add zucchini).
In Asia, we gleefully suck the coating or sauce off the shell. Have a bowl ready for shells, and napkins for fingers that aren’t licked clean. Don’t forget to bite right into the end of the tail to get to the sweetest meat! Eating with your fingers brings a tactile, textural experience to eating - another perspective, another joy.
I believe the shrimp in the photo are tail on - not shell on. There would really be no point in sprinkling bread crumbs on the shell.
Agree with everyone here about the shrimp with shells -- and the breadcrumbs are pointless if the shells are still on. Makes for a mess at table, and a rather indelicate experience
From the recipe description: "You can cook the rice and fold in the shellfish up to 2 hours in advance of serving, then top with shrimp and crumbs, and bake. " Which is how to do this with peeled shrimp, and probably decreases the cooking time.
I agree that the recipe needed a little work. I used shell off shrimp, and added garlic, sugar, fish sauce and soy sauce to add umami to the risotto to balance off the tomato paste. Cooked it without the shrimp for 20 minutes added the shrimp and breadcrumbs that I have mixed with butter, for the last 10 minutes at the end, it was great
This recipe was great, and the shrimp can be done without tails/shells and still stay tender, just reduce cooking time. Watch the saffron, it can be overwhelming if you’re not careful.
This was terrible. I can't understand all the people who liked it. What a waste of ingredients. next time I'll make crab cakes with a side salad. Much lighter and much tastier.
This was delicious - used shelled tail-on gulf shrimp. Covering shrimp with thin layer of breadcrumbs keeps moist & tender. Broth: 1C wine, 1C clam juice, 2C low sodium chicken broth and 25 min bake time. Everyone loved it.
I made this per recipe and it was great! The only change I made was leaving only the tails on the shrimp - and baked it for 20 minutes… this and the citrus salad were perfect for a dinner party. I’m always looking for dishes that allow me to actually enjoy the evening with friends and not stressing over last minute cooking. All done ahead of time- and we had a wonderful evening with lots of raves about the citrus salad and rice… will definitely be making again and again!
Tasty recipe, but need procedural change. Thirty minutes is way too long to bake the shrimp. Cover the rice mixture with bread crumbs (I used panko), bake for ~20 minutes, then add peeled shrimp.
Excellent. Like others, peeled the shrimp. Made a bullion from the shrimp hells and used it to cook the rice. Used salmon because there was no fresh crab in the market. Baked for 25 minutes, then broiled for 2 minutes. Used finely sliced shallots instead of chives. Turned out wonderfully.
Prepared as noted was just too bland for my family. We added garlic, oregano, to the rice mix, and much more Dijon and lemon to the sauce.
This dish as listed was just too bland for my family. I added garlic, oregano, and a tad of cumin for more flavor. I also added much more Dijon and lemon to the sauce. I agree, there doesn’t seem to be much point to breading the shrimp if you are going to leave the peel on, so I substituted peeled, tail on shrimp.
Ok look at the photo. The shrimp are not peeled. There is only a small amount of bread crumbs the shrimp are not “breaded”. You can eat the whole shrimp shells and all. Ever heard of Chinese salt and pepper shrimp? If you don’t want to follow the recipe, then don’t but why make such a big deal and complain about how a professional chooses to develop, cook or write a recipe.
I always sauté the rice first & add the alliums to the warmed rice. This minimizes the chance that the alliums will brown or burn. The coated, hot rice helps the alliums soften
This is a question. Described as a "make ahead" recipe. Can I do everything in advance until the casserole goes into the oven? I don't want soggy rice.
How far ahead can this dish be made?
Agree with all comments about unpeeled shrimp. Perhaps we're supposed to eat the shells?
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