← Nouns Cooking · Italian

Ingredients

• 320 g carnaroli or arborio rice
• 600 g Mussels, scrubbed and debearded
• 400 g Clams, soaked and rinsed
• 250 g Squid, cleaned and cut into small pieces
• 250 g raw prawns, peeled, shells kept
• 1 Shallot, finely chopped
• 2 cloves Garlic, 1 crushed, 1 finely chopped
• 120 ml dry white wine
• 1.2 l light fish or vegetable stock
• 4 tbsp Olive oil
• 25 g cold butter
• 3 tbsp Parsley, chopped
• 1 pinch Chilli flakes (optional)
• Salt

Method

1. Put the stock and the prawn shells in a pan and simmer for 10 min, then strain and keep it hot on a low heat.
2. Cook the mussels and clams with the crushed garlic and a splash of wine in a covered pan over high heat for 3–4 min until open. Pick most of the meat out of the shells (keep a few whole), and strain the juices into the stock.
3. In a wide pan, warm 2 tbsp oil and fry the squid and prawns for 2 min. Lift them out and set aside.
4. Add the rest of the oil, the shallot and the chopped garlic to the pan and soften for 3 min. Stir in the rice for 2 min until the grains turn glassy, then pour in the remaining wine and let it evaporate.
5. Add the hot stock a ladle at a time, stirring often and letting each ladle be absorbed before the next, for 16–18 min, until the rice is creamy but still has a little bite.
6. Stir in the seafood and shellfish meat for the last 2 min to warm through. Off the heat, beat in the cold butter and parsley, cover and rest for 1 minute, then serve with the whole shells on top.

Tips

• Italians never add Parmesan to seafood risotto; the butter alone gives the gloss.
• Contains molluscs and crustaceans. Check your stock cube is gluten-free.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

GialloZafferano Cooking with Manuela BBC Good Food