Corn-Cabot Cheddar Risotto with Shrimp

Ingredients

4 cups (32 ounces) 99% fat-free chicken broth
½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves or 3 sprigs fresh thyme
1½ pounds unpeeled raw shrimp
1 tablespoon Cabot Salted Butter
¾ cup chopped onion
1¼ cups Arborio rice
2 cups fresh corn or frozen corn kernels
4 ounces Cabot Lite50 Sharp Cheddar or Cabot Sharp Lite75 Cheddar, grated (about 1 cup)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

BRING broth and thyme to simmer in large saucepan; add shrimp, return to simmer and cook until shrimp are just firm, about 2 minutes. With slotted spoon, transfer shrimp to bowl, setting broth aside. Fill bowl with cold water to cool shrimp, then drain, peel and set aside.

MELT butter in large pot over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook stirring often, until tender, about 3 minutes. Add rice and stir for two minutes longer.

ADD ½ cup of warm broth, adjusting heat to maintain gentle simmer and stirring often. When broth is all absorbed add another ½ cup, repeating until all broth is used (cooking time will be about 20 minutes total). Rice should still be slightly firm but not crunchy in center; add hot water a ½ cup at a time if rice needs further cooking.

STIR in corn and reserved shrimp; stir until heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir in cheese and parsley and season with pepper.

Note: Cooking the unpeeled shrimp in the chicken broth adds great flavor, but for a quicker version you can purchase peeled cooked shrimp and make the risotto with plain chicken broth heated with thyme.