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Chef Patricks Seafood risotto
Ingredients
( for two people )
Seafood
Gournard or similar 150 gms cut into chunks
Mussels ( fresh ) 250 gms
Prawns ( with heads is best ) 150 gms
Aborio rice
120 gms or 1 cup
onion 1 small or shallote is even better, 1 small fennel bulb, tomato 1 , lemon , fresh parsley , pinch of saffron about 15 strands , Bay leaves 2 , olive oil or sunflower oil .
Preparation Method
There must be about as many recipes for Risotto as Risotto chefs, so here’s mine. Here I give the basic one I know, easy for everyone to follow.
So, start off by steaming the mussels, set aside and retain the cooking liquid to add to your stock later.
You can either make your own vegetable or fish stock or use convenience stock the cheat’s way, but the fast way. If you have prawn heads, chuck them in when making the stock along with parsley stems. Don’t forget the mussel juice, lovage, tarragon, or some garden herbs if you like to add. For the recipe today, you will need about 4-5 cups of stock or a ratio of 3/1.
In a thick-bottomed pot, sauté the diced onion, fennel, bay leaves, lemon zest, and saffron in the oil. Once glassy, add the Arborio rice and sauté a minute longer, then add the stock gradually, stirring occasionally to avoid the rice sticking on the bottom. It should take about 18 minutes to cook at medium heat. When the rice is almost done, pop in the seafood, cooked mussels, and continue cooking till the fish is just done and the rice is perfectly al dente!
The finished Risotto shouldn’t be dry but still have a wavy consistency. Before serving up, add the diced tomato and chopped parsley, and I like at this stage to drizzle with a generous squeeze of lemon, olive oil, and let’s not forget the chili.
Double hot as well to give it that tangy, chili-added bonus!
Bon appétit.
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