Grilled Scallops on Lemongrass and Chive Risotto

This was OK. I had to make a few modifications to the way the recipe had it laid out, but all in all, it was a fair dish. The lemongrass didn't come though as much as I would have liked. We used the scallop butter soaking liquid (and the liquid produced in the pan by cooking the scallops) to dress the plate and further season the dish as a whole. It added a nice buttery hit that it needed.

RISOTTO
5 cups fish stock
1 cup dry white wine
2 sticks lemongrass, sliced into rings
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups arborio rice
3 tablespoons lemon juice
½ cup chopped chives
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

SCALLOPS
10 scallops
90 g melted butter
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander, chopped
coriander (cilantro) leaves and slivered lemon, rind, to garnish

Place the stock, wine and lemon grass into a saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat. Strain to remove the lemon grass. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, and fry the rice for 1 minute. Add the stock a ladelful at a time to the rice, stirring as you go until the liquid is fully absorbed before adding another ladleful.

Cook, stirring and adding stock, for about 20 minutes, until the rice is tender. Stir through the lemon juice, chives and Parmesan. Cover and keep warm.

Mix the scallops with butter, pepper and coriander (cilantro). Char grill, barbecue or pan fry for a couple of minutes each side until opaque, taking care not to overcook. (Kevin's NOTE: Drain as much of the butter mixture off as you can prior to putting them in a really hot pan. Too much butter will combine with the scallops natural juices and put quite a bit of liquid in the pan. This will stew your scallops rather than sear them.)

Place the risotto onto plates and pile scallops on top. Garnish with slivers of lemon rind and serve immediately.