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| Croatian-style cuttlefish risotto |
“Hailing from Croatia, think of this less as an Italian risotto, and more as a seafood rice stew – it’s a fantastic twist and packed with incredible flavour. ”
Serves 4
Cooks In1H 15M
Ingredients
300 g risotto rice
500 g cuttlefish , cleaned, bones and trimmings reserved, from sustainable sources
1 litre organic chicken stock , optional
1 red onion
1 clove of garlic
3 large ripe tomatoes
½ a bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley
olive oil
30 g unsalted butter
3 anchovies, from sustainable sources
1 tablespoon cuttlefish ink, from sustainable sources
1 fresh red chilli
1 lemon
extra virgin olive oil
Method
- Cook the risotto rice in a large pan of boiling salted water according to the packet instructions, until al dente. Drain and spread out on a tray to cool (there’s no need to rinse it).
- Carefully score the underside of the cuttlefish in a criss-cross pattern, then chop into 2cm pieces along with the tentacles.
- To make the fish stock, place the reserved cuttlefish skin, bones and trimmings into a large pan. Cover with the chicken stock (if using) or 1 litre of boiling water and place over a high heat. Bring to the boil, simmer for 20 minutes, then strain into another pan and leave over a low heat to keep warm.
- Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Deseed and dice the tomatoes. Pick the parsley leaves and set aside, then finely chop the stalks.
- Heat a splash of olive oil and the butter in a medium pan on a medium heat, then add the onion, garlic and whole anchovies. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until softened.
- Add the cuttlefish, parsley stalks, tomatoes, tomato purée, white wine, cuttlefish ink and 500ml of stock. Cook for 15 minutes, or until the cuttlefish is tender.
- Finely chop the parsley leaves, deseed and finely slice the chilli, then combine in a bowl with most of the lemon juice and a splash of extra virgin olive oil.
- Gently fold the cooled risotto rice into the pan and add a good squeeze of lemon juice. Serve with the chilli-spiked parsley oil drizzled on top.
