1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper or 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 cup semisweet white wine
such as Riesling
3 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
Pinch of saffron threads
crumbled
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
cut into tablespoons
1 scallion
thinly sliced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon chopped thyme
Instructions
Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil.
Add the rice and cook, stirring a few times, until just al dente, 16 minutes.
Drain well.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, heat the oil.
Add the shrimp shells; cook over moderately high heat, stirring often, until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes.
Add the chopped fennel, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, fennel seeds and Aleppo pepper and cook over moderately high heat, stirring often, until the onion is golden, about 6 minutes.
Add the wine and boil until almost evaporated.
Add 2 cups of the chicken stock and simmer over moderate heat for 12 minutes.
Strain.
In another medium saucepan, combine the cream with the saffron, 1/2 cup of the shrimp stock and the remaining 1 cup of chicken stock and bring to a simmer.
Add the parboiled rice and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the sauce has thickened and the grains are tender, about 3 minutes.
Season with salt and black pepper, cover and remove from the heat.
In a large skillet, bring the remaining shrimp stock to a simmer.
Add the shrimp and cook over moderately low heat, turning once, until pink and curled, about 3 minutes.
Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in 4 tablespoons of the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Season with salt and black pepper.
In a small bowl, toss the sliced fennel and scallion with the lemon juice and season with salt and black pepper.
Rewarm the rice and stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter.
Transfer the rice to shallow bowls.
Spoon the shrimp and sauce over the rice.
Top with the fennel salad, garnish with the thyme and serve.