A seafood risotto is the perfect winter dish: hearty, warming, and nutritious.
INGREDIENTS:
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1.75 litres fish stock
500g carnaroli rice
¾ cup dry white wine
1 bunch green asparagus, chopped, tips halved lengthways (see notes)
500g green Prawns, peeled, deveined and halved lengthways
1 x 250g Squid, cleaned and cut into thin strips, tentacles discarded
100g Saucer Scallops, trimmed and quartered
100g baby English spinach
50g butter
1 lemon
Salt flakes and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
METHOD:
Heat oil in a large, high-sided frying pan over medium-high heat and fry onion and garlic for a few minutes, until soft but not coloured.
Meanwhile, bring stock to a simmer in a saucepan, cover and keep on lowest heat.
Add rice to onion and stir for a couple of minutes until grains are hot and well coated in oil. Add wine and stir until absorbed. Reduce heat to medium, add 2 ladlefuls of stock and stir until most of the liquid is absorbed. Continue stirring, adding stock a ladleful at a time for 10 minutes, stirring constantly and allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next.
After 10 minutes, stir in asparagus. Continue stirring in stock for 4 minutes, then add Prawns and Squid and continue stirring in stock for another 2-4 minutes, until rice is tender, with a slight bite and creamy consistency; you may not need all of the stock.
Stir Scallops, spinach, butter, a squeeze of lemon juice, salt and pepper through the rice, adding a little more stock if necessary to give a creamy consistency. Taste, add extra salt if needed and serve immediately on a flat plate, tapping the bottom of the plate to spread the risotto out.
NOTES:
If asparagus is thick and woody, discard the woody bottom section and peel the spears with a potato peeler.
ALTERNATIVE SPECIES:
Cuttlefish, Mussels, Salmon, Tuna.