Recipe: Black Risotto with Seafood (Croatia)

BLACK RISOTTO WITH SEAFOOD

"Though there are similar rice-and-squid ink dishes throughout the northern Mediterranean, I was introduced to this dish by a Croatian, so it is that country that gets the credit; Spaniards and Italians will no doubt be offended. The origins hardly matter, however; this is a wonderful and intensely flavorful dish.

It's unusual, too, for a few reasons: it's a no-stir (or, to be more precise, a low-stir) risotto; it's jet black; and it combines cheese and seafood, which is not exactly common and, for many of us - usually including me - a no-no.

But it's also easy, delicious, and striking, a perfect dish for entertaining. Serve it with a simple salad, a white wine from northeastern Italy, Austria, or, if you can find one, Croatia, and fresh fruit for dessert.

You can find squid ink in small packages at fancy fish markets or European specialty shops (or, of course, on the Internet); it's shelf-stable, though it must be refrigerated, and relatively inexpensive. And though its taste is pure squid, it's the dramatic color that matters most."

4 to 6 tablespoons (1/2 to 3/4 stick) butter
1 medium onion, diced
About 1/2 pound squid, cleaned and chopped
11/2 cups Arborio or other short- or medium-grain rice
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup dry white wine
Four 1/2- to 1-ounce packages squid ink
4 to 6 cups Shrimp Shell Stock or water, warmed
1/2 pound medium to large shrimp, peeled (add their shells to the Shrimp Shell Stock)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, or more to taste
Chopped fresh parsley leaves, for garnish

Put 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large deep nonstick skillet and turn the heat to medium. (Allow the remaining butter to soften while you cook.) When it's hot, add the onion and squid and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens, 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is glossy and coated with butter, 2 to 3 minutes.

Season with salt, then add the white wine. Stir and let the wine bubble away, then add the squid ink and enough shrimp shell stock or water to cover the rice by about an inch.

Bring the pan to a simmer and cook for 15 to 18 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender but still al dente. The mixture should be loose but not soupy at this point; if it isn't, add more water or stock by the tablespoonful.

Add the shrimp, stir once or twice to distribute them throughout the rice, and turn the heat to high. When they are just cooked through, after 3 or 4 minutes, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the softened butter and Parmesan. Taste and adjust the seasoning; garnish with parsley and serve immediately.

VARIATION:
A nice refinement is to sear the shrimp (and some scallops if you have them) instead of stirring them into the rice. Substitute 1/4 pound bay scallops for 1/4 pound of the shrimp and, while the rice is cooking in step 3, put 2 more tablespoons of butter in a large nonstick skillet and turn the heat to medium-high. Dredge the scallops lightly in flour and, when the butter foam subsides, add them, along with the shrimp, a few at a time. Turn them individually as they brown, allowing about 2 minutes per side. Season with salt and pepper and nestle them into the risotto just before serving.

Makes 4 to 6 servings
Excerpted from The Best Recipes In The World by Mark Bittman
Copyright 2005 by Mark Bittman. Excerpted by permission of Broadway, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.