Yellow Tomato Risotto with Seared Sea Scallops

By Meaghan SmithJanuary 24, 2022

Risotto is the food of love and what better dinner to make for Valentine’s Day than this yellow tomato risotto with seared sea scallops?! This dish is so elegant and bursting full of flavor in every bite! Pour yourself a glass of wine (if you’re of age), roll up your sleeves and get ready to…

Jump to Recipe

Jump to Video

Risotto is the food of love and what better dinner to make for Valentine’s Day than this yellow tomato risotto with seared sea scallops?! This dish is so elegant and bursting full of flavor in every bite. So let’s get to it, pour yourself a glass of wine (if you’re of age), roll up your sleeves and get ready to enjoy the process of cooking with lots of love for the ones you love!!

*Full disclosure, Cento Fine Foods sponsored our Instagram post, but this recipe is way too good not to share on our blog too! We love Cento’s quality products and this recipe was fully tested using only their yellow tomatoes, arborio rice, and EVOO.

The secret to risotto is time and patience. Something that is precious to all of us and the reason I think that making risotto for someone, is a true testament on how much you love them!! Making this the absolute best Valentine’s Day meal, to have an at home dining experience and indulge in with your Valentine. There’s a few tips to making the most creamy risotto and I’ll go through them here, but the most important rule is, DO NOT LEAVE THE RISOTTO UNATTENDED! Treat it like a baby, stirring constantly, to ensure that your risotto will come out a success every time and not turn into a lumpy mess or worse stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Grab a saucepan and melt 2 tbsp of butter and EVOO on medium low heat.Then add in your onions and garlic! This is where your kitchen will begin to smell so delicious. Especially when you add the white wine!! The fragrance is out of this world. Before you add the wine though, you will need to add the arborio rice and toast it up for about 2-3 minutes in the onion/garlic/butter/EVOO mixture. Once the rice is nice and toasted, add in the wine!! Let the rice slowly simmer until all the liquid is absorbed, stirring often.My next tip to making perfect risotto is adding warm liquids. This will help speed up the cooking process and not shock the risotto. Pour the can of yellow tomatoes into a bowl with a spout and squish the tomatoes with your fingers until they are finely crushed, heat the yellow tomatoes in the microwave or in another saucepan on the stove until just warmed. Do the same for the chicken broth until warm.Pour 1/4 – 1/2 cup of warmed yellow tomatoes into the rice, continuously stirring until liquid is absorbed, next add in 1/4 – 1/2 cup warmed chicken broth, continuously stirring until liquid is absorbed, keep doing this accordingly until all liquid is added and rice is al dente (about 25 minutes). Again, I want to remind you to make sure not to leave the saucepan unattended, as the rice will stick to the bottom.Once the rice is al dente, remove pan from heat and stir in 1 tbsp butter and parmesan cheese, mixing until all is combined, add salt & pepper to taste.

Grab an iron skillet and heat up EVOO on medium high heat.As the skillet is heating up, it’s time to prepare the scallops! Take your dry sea scallops and remove the small side muscle and discard. Rinse the scallops under cold water and pat dry with paper towels to remove moisture from the outside. Sprinkle one side of the scallops with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. When the iron skillet is hot, add the scallops seasoned side down to the skillet, making sure that the scallops do not touch. While the scallops are searing, go ahead and season the other side (that is pointed upward) with remaining salt and pepper.Sear for about 3-4 minutes on each side or until translucent inside.Just look at how beautiful these are!!! SWOON!

Top your yellow tomato risotto with the seared sea scallops and garnish with fresh parsley and grated parmesan cheese!

Ingredients

Yellow TOmato risotto

2 tbsp Cento Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 tbsp butter, divided into 2 tbsp and 1 tbsp
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 white onion, chopped
1 cup Bellino Superfino Arborio Rice
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 14 ounce can Cento Yellow Peeled Tomatoes
2 1/4 cup chicken broth
4 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese

Seared Scallops:

1 lb scallops
3 tbsp Cento Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper

instructions:

Yellow Tomato Risotto

1. Melt 2 tbsp butter and EVOO in a saucepan on medium low heat, sauté onions and garlic for about 2-3 minutes until translucent and fragrant

2. While the onions and garlic are sautéing, pour the can of yellow tomatoes into a bowl with a spout and squish the tomatoes with your fingers until they are finely crushed, heat the yellow tomatoes in the microwave until just warmed. Heat chicken broth until warm

3. Add arborio rice to the saucepan and toast for 2-3 minutes, pour in dry white wine and let slowly simmer until all the liquid is absorbed, stirring often

4. Pour 1/4 – 1/2 cup of yellow tomatoes into the rice, continuously stirring until liquid is absorbed, next add in 1/4 – 1/2 cup chicken broth, continuously stirring until liquid is absorbed, keep doing this accordingly until all liquid is added and rice is al dente (about 25 minutes). Make sure to not leave the saucepan unattended, as the rice will stick to the bottom

5. Remove pan from heat and stir in 1 tbsp butter and parmesan cheese, mixing until all is combined, add salt & pepper to taste

Seared Scallops

1. Remove the small side muscle from the scallops, rinse under cold water, and set on a paper towel lined plate. Pat dry, sprinkle one side with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper

2. Heat an iron skillet on medium high heat, add EVOO

3. Add scallops seasoned side down to hot skillet, making sure scallops aren’t touching. Season the top of scallops with remaining salt & pepper. Sear scallops for 3-4 minutes on each side and until translucent inside

*Serve scallops over risotto and garnish with freshly grated parmesan cheese and parsley