Prosciutto Wrapped Scallops with Roasted Tomato Risotto

Preheat your oven to 400 F.

In a medium sized bowl toss tomatoes and garlic cloves in enough olive oil to coat them, then season with salt and pepper. Roast them in the oven on a rimmed sheet pan for 15 minutes or until tender. Remove pan from the oven and let the mixture cool. Remove garlic cloves from the skins and place in a food processor or blender with the tomatoes. Blend until smooth.

Heat the stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan.

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the onion. Sauté for 2-3 minutes or until it is slightly translucent. Add the rice to the pot and stir it briskly with a wooden spoon so that the grains are coated with the oil and melted butter. Sauté for another minute, until there is a slightly nutty aroma. But don’t let the rice brown.

Add the tomato paste and vodka and cook while stirring, until the liquid is fully absorbed and the tomato paste is completely incorporated. Add a ladle of the hot stock to the rice and stir until the liquid is fully absorbed. When the rice appears almost dry, add another ladle of stock and repeat the process.

It’s important to stir constantly, to prevent burning, and add the next ladle as soon as the rice is almost dry.

Continue adding a ladle of hot stock and stirring the rice while the liquid is absorbed. As it cooks, you’ll see that the rice will take on a creamy consistency as it begins to release its natural starches.
Continue adding stock, a ladle at a time, for 30 minutes or until the grains are tender.

At this point add the tomato garlic puree and stir in. Keep stirring until risotto is thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Turn heat off and prepare the scallops.

Make sure the scallops are completely dry. Pat them dry with paper towels. Slice the prosciutto slices in half lengthwise and wrap the scallops. Season the scallops with salt.

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a skillet or saute pan on high heat. The pan needs to be screaming hot in order to properly sear the scallops. Add the scallops to the pan and cook 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Scallops should have a brown crust on the outside. Remove them from the pan when done.

Serve risotto and scallops immediately and garnish with plenty of chopped basil.