Valerie Bertinelli’s Flavorful Shrimp Risotto Only Needs 5 Ingredients

There really is nothing like the velvety, silky, creamy experience of having a warm bowl of risotto. Food Network star Valerie Bertinelli’s Shrimp Risotto recipe is not only extremely easy to make; it just requires five ingredients for a quick and delicious weeknight meal.

Bertinelli says her mom’s risotto recipe inspired her own

As many chefs will admit, many of their culinary inspirations arise from their childhood kitchen tables and Bertinelli is no different.

On her website, the television personality recalled her mother’s delicious risotto recipe that she still remembers fondly.

“My mom made risotto throughout my childhood and I thought it was the most delicious thing to ever rest on my tongue,” she wrote. “If there was a meal I regarded as special, this was it. However, there was a catch. When she made her roasted chicken, she saved the neck, gizzards, and liver, and then always made risotto the next day, using those leftover chicken parts to kick up the flavor. I ate around them, pushing them all over my plate with an expression of disgust that never left my face until I put my plate in the sink for washing.

“I have, of course, eliminated these from my version. With crusty bread and a salad, this is a winner that can become, as it’s been for me, a favorite family recipe. I’ll just add one more note: Thanks, Mom.”

How to make Valerie Bertinelli’s 5-Ingredient Shrimp Risotto

All you need for Bertinelli’s recipe (ingredients’ quantities and recipe reviews can be found on the Food Network website) are a pound of shrimp, garlic, arborio rice, arugula, and the zest of a lemon. On the Food Network page for her recipe, the cook writes: “This shrimp risotto uses the shrimp shells and tails to create a flavorful stock that will infuse into the rice as it cooks! The bright lemon combined with the homemade stock and peppery arugula create a taste that’s so bold, you’ll never believe it only took 5 ingredients to make!”

To start, the shrimp shells and tails are placed in a stockpot along with the cloves of garlic, salt, and pepper. Pour enough water into the pot to cover these ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook for almost half an hour. Once it’s done, strain the broth through a sieve, discard the shrimp shells and tails, and keep the broth warm.

Keep stirring that rice

Chop the shrimp and cook it over medium heat in a skillet with olive oil. Once the shrimp are pink, remove them to a plate. The heat is reduced and the garlic is sliced and cooked. Add the arborio rice and lemon juice, stirring to coat with the oil in the pan.

Now the delicious part of the recipe: the savory broth you made earlier is added to the pan one ladleful at a time, stirring “gently without stopping.” As the rice absorbs the broth, keep adding another ladle of broth and repeat the process over and over until the rice is tender. Bertinelli suggests that water be used if you run out of broth and the rice is still not cooked thoroughly.

The arugula, shrimp, and half of the lemon zest are stirred gently until the arugula wilts, serving with the rest of the lemon zest.

Try Bertinelli’s Shrimp Risotto for a delicious weeknight meal that will hit the spot.