The seafood risotto is a classic seafood first course, with a delicate taste that allows you to enhance the flavors of the fish. The preparation of seafood risotto is simple, but as with any good risotto it requires patience and some tricks. As the name suggests, the ingredients that enrich our risotto come from the sea. We can choose between mussels, clams, shrimp and squid, but also add other types of fish, depending on our preferences. The use of fresh fish, even if it will involve a longer preparation due to the cleaning operations, guarantees a more intense flavor and genuine, but we can also opt for frozen fish for practical reasons. Furthermore, there are already preparations for risotto on the market, with a mix of fish already cleaned and cut, ready to be used. The only trick is to properly defrost the fish. We therefore recommend let the product thaw slowly in the fridge, avoiding leaving it at room temperature, both to avoid bacterial contamination and to preserve flavor and texture. If we have little time, we can put the product directly into the pot. And for the rice? Many varieties of rice abound on the shelves of every supermarket, to make us cross our eyes. In fact, each rice has different characteristics that make it suitable for particular preparations. For the seafood risottoand in general to prepare risotto, we can choose the Carnaroli, for its large grains, which keep cooking well. Alternatively we can opt for the Vialone nano, with smaller grains. Another essential element for seafood risotto is the broth. The theme of this recipe is the sea, so we will use a fish broth, which we can also prepare ourselves at home, starting from the fish scraps, such as heads, bones, clippings, avoiding the entrails.

Preparation

1

Let’s prepare the fish: clean the mussels by removing the byssus, and removing the encrustations on the shell. We eliminate the open mussels or mussels with broken shells.

2

We leave the clams to soak in cold water, to drain them and lose the sand they contain. We repeat the operation until the water is clean.

3

Let’s open the mussels and clams, placing them in a large saucepan, over medium heat, covering with the lid and adding a clove of garlic to flavor the water that these molluscs will release. We filter the sauce to separate the impurities and remove the molluscs that have not opened.

4

We clean the shrimp, removing the head and carapace. We can keep these parts to prepare a shellfish cartoon. We wash under cold water.

5

In a saucepan, heat a drizzle of oil, add the shallot and let it brown over high heat.

6

Add the rice and toast, stirring with a spoon so as to wrap all the grains in the sauce, and avoiding it from burning or sticking. The roasting phase is important, it seals the bean and increases its cooking resistance.

7

When the rice becomes shiny, or with our hand we feel that the grains have become hotter, being careful not to burn (just put your hand close, without actually touching the rice), blend with the wine and with a few tablespoons of the water released by the molluscs that we have previously filtered. We mix to prevent the rice from sticking. When the wine has evaporated, lower the heat slightly and add the hot broth a little at a time, stirring gently.

8

Let it go over medium-low heat with a lid, according to the cooking time of the rice we have chosen, taking care to add the fish halfway through cooking. In this case, after about 7 minutes, add the fish and continue cooking with more broth. Checking from time to time the cooking of the beans and the flavor.

9

When the rice is cooked, we finish with the addition of chopped fresh parsley. Our seafood risotto is ready to be enjoyed hot.

storage

Risotto alla pescatora it can be kept for 2 daysin the fridge in a closed container.

Variants

We have created a white version, but we can also add tomato to our preparation, in the form of peeled tomatoes, cherry tomatoes or tomato sauce depending on our taste, which you can also liven up with a touch of fresh chili.

Curiosity

The fish to be preferred for the broth are sole, hake, sea bream, while fatter fish such as salmon are less suitable, as they would leave an unpleasant aftertaste. It is important that it is a light-flavored broth, so as not to overwhelm the flavors. It will be important to pour the broth hot, so as not to block cooking.