Seafood risotto
Ingredients:
- Rice (320 g)
- Mussels (250 g)
- Clams (250 g)
- Peeled prawns (200 g)
- Cleaned squid (200 g)
- Fish stock (1 L)
- Onion (50 g)
- Garlic (1 clove)
- White wine (100 ml)
- Olive oil (3 tbsp)
- Parsley (10 g)
- Salt
- Pepper
Method:
A risotto worth sitting down for
This is a generous seafood risotto, with mussels, clams, prawns and squid rather than just a few decorative pieces on top. Allow about 55 minutes with cleaned seafood, plus any clam-purging time advised by your fishmonger. Olive oil finishes the rice and lets the seafood remain the main flavour. This recipe serves four. Set out the ingredients before you start and use Carnaroli or Arborio rice, without rinsing it: its starch is what makes the risotto creamy.
Before you start
The mussel and clam weights include their shells; the prawn and squid weights are after cleaning. Scrub the shellfish and remove the mussel beards. Discard broken shells and any open shellfish that do not close when tapped. Use purged clams and rinse well. Slice the squid into thin rings and small pieces, devein the prawns and keep them chilled. Finely chop the onion, garlic and parsley; heat the fish stock.
Build the flavour
Put the clams and mussels in a large covered pan with 50 ml wine. Steam for 4–6 minutes, lifting out shells as they open; discard any that stay closed. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve lined with damp muslin and keep it hot. Remove most shells, retaining a few for serving. In a wide risotto pan soften the onion and garlic in two tablespoons of oil for five minutes. Toast the rice for two minutes, then add the remaining 50 ml wine and let it reduce.
Cook the rice
Add hot stock a ladle at a time, keeping the rice at a gentle, steady simmer. Stir regularly, sweeping the bottom of the pan, and add more liquid when the previous ladle is mostly absorbed, before the rice dries out. Start tasting after 15 minutes; most risotto rice needs 16–20 minutes from the first stock addition. It should be tender with a little resistance in the centre. You may not need all the stock; if it runs out, use hot water.
Use the filtered shellfish liquid for the first ladles, tasting it first; if very salty, dilute with hot water and use less of it. Continue with fish stock. During the last five minutes add the squid; add the prawns for the last three to four minutes, until opaque throughout. Fold the cooked clams and mussels back in for the final minute to heat through.
Finish and serve
Take off the heat and stir in the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and the parsley. Serve with the few reserved shells distributed between the plates. No cheese is needed here: the shellfish juices and rice starch provide the body.
Taste for salt and pepper, then leave to rest for two minutes. Loosen with a splash of hot liquid if needed: the risotto should spread gently across a warm plate when you tap it, rather than sit in a stiff mound. Bring everyone to the table before serving; this is a dish that rewards being eaten straight away.