A rich and delicious recipe for creamy lobster risotto, inspired by Gordon Ramsay and his Hell's Kitchen restaurant.
This Gordon Ramsay Hell's Kitchen lobster risotto recipe tastes decadent and utterly delicious — an irresistible combination of creamy Arborio rice and fresh seafood.
What makes this dish extra special is the fact that the rice is cooked in a homemade lobster broth.
The first few steps of the recipe involve cooking the lobster tails in their shells, then removing the meat and cooking the shells for longer, along with some fresh vegetables and seasonings.
The resulting broth is fresh, tasty, and so much better than store-bought seafood stock. Cooking the rice in this broth really helps develop the flavor of the lobster in the finished dish!
Thisshow-stopping meal is inspired by famed chef Gordon Ramsay, known for (among other things) his Hell's Kitchen TV show and restaurant empire. He's food TV royalty and his restaurant has locations across the country, but that doesn't mean you can't replicate some of his successful flavors yourself! It's actually easier than you think.
Tips for Perfect Risotto
At his Hell's Kitchen restaurant chain, Gordon Ramsay's lobster risotto is made with "butter-poached lobster tail, braised fennel, confit lemon zest, and parmesan."
But direct recipes from restaurants — which are making things in much larger quantities and using different tools and equipment, not to mention the trained professionals preparing it! — rarely translate 1:1 for cooking at home. So here are our top tips to making this inspired version of lobster risotto.
Make sure the stock is warm
You'll note that this recipe tells you to keep the stock warm over a low heat as you begin to assemble the ingredients for the risotto.
This is important — if the stock is cold, it will cool down the skillet and the other ingredients, affecting the results. A warm stock will ensure everything cooks nice and evenly.
Stir, stir, stir... but not too much!
That may sound a little contradictory, but it's important to get the amount of stirring you do just right!
Stirring 'occasionally' is ideal. It's enough to stop the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan and will also agitate the rice enough to produce starch. This is what gives risotto its hallmark creamy texture.
Slow andsteady wins the race!
When making risotto, you're told to add the liquid to the rice a ladle-full at a time. So why can't you just save time and pour it in all in one go?
Because the rice will end up boiled, instead — and taste nothing like risotto rice should be! By adding the liquid a bit at a time, and allowing it to be absorbed before adding more, you are helping to create that fabulous creamy texture a good risotto should have. Trust us, you don't want to cut corners here.
Don't overcook
Be sure to pay special attention to the guidelines at the end of the recipe that tell you how the rice should look when it's cooked. A perfect dish should have a little 'bite' — you do not want your risotto to be mushy.
And for a little extra pizazz...
Follow the suggestion at the start of the recipe to substitute wine for some of the water. It adds a little depth to the flavor that we think shouldn't be missed!
How to Modify This Recipe
There are a broad range of ways you could modify this recipe to suit your tastes! We've already mentioned how subbing in some white wine can really add to the dish, but here are some other ideas you might want to try:
- Add more lobster meat.It's expensive, we know. But considering this is a special occasion kind of dish, why not go all in for whoever you're trying to impress? Adding more lobster to your risotto (as pictured) can really make it feel more extravagant, and also help it become more of a focal point.
- Add peas to the risotto.The classic version of this recipe really prioritizes keeping things as simple as possible. But peas can add a nice pop of color, and it never hurts to incorporate a little more veggies into a dish. It won't take away from the richness of the risotto, just be sure to use them sparingly.
- Add more butter.Yup. It may be obvious, but if you're trying to emulate a restaurant meal from somewhere like Hell's Kitchen, the answer may be in using copious amounts of butter.
- Substitute the Arborio rice.If needed, you could swap in Carnaroli or Vialone Nano rice for this recipe, but not just any rice will do. The reason to do this would be if you already had one of the alternatives on hand, otherwise don't bother.
- Don't dice the lobster.This recipe calls for dicing the lobster tail. Alternately, you could serve it whole atop the risotto, to be cut by whomever you're serving. To do this, you'll need to carefully remove the meat from the shell at the appropriate step in the process (below), but it's possible!
- Add braised fennel.Not everyone loves fennel, but the original version of this recipe served at Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen restaurant calls for it. This can add some depth of flavor to the dish, so if you're more confident in the kitchen, try incorporating it!
- Serve with lemon wedges.There's lemon incorporated into this recipe, but putting a lemon wedge on each plate (after removing any seeds!) can add some brightness to the dish.
- Pair it with a drink.The natural choice here would be a white wine, but you could also make a co*cktail. We suggest either something Italian, like an Aperol spritz, or something that will be a nice counterweight to the richness of the lobster risotto, like a Ginger Brandy Old Fashioned.
Obviously there are plenty of other great ways you could make this recipe your own, but these are some of our favorite ideas!
Related Recipes
While we're on the subject of lobster, be sure to give Ina Garten's Lobster Mac and Cheese Recipe a try, too!
Want more risotto recipes? Here are three we recommend:
- Tuscan White Bean Farro Risotto
- Lemon Asparagus Risotto
