Enza Genovese’s Fisherman’s Risotto
Risotto is not really a Sicilian speciality, but over the years Sicilians have adopted it and cooked it in their own way with seafood taking centre stage, naturally. Enza's advice is to use only the freshest produce, as it makes all the difference! Also, ideally, prepare the stock yourself, but you can buy it ready made if you are short of time.
20 minutes prep, 1 hour cook
Serves 4
Ingredients
400g raw prawns
4 raw king prawns, shelled but keep the tails on
2 onions
500g canned chopped tomatoes
15 flat-leaf parsley sprigs, chopped, plus extra to garnish
1 small red chilli
200ml dry white wine
500g mussels
500g clams
3 garlic cloves
200ml olive oil, plus extra as needed
500g squid, cleaned and prepared
1 small shallot, finely chopped
350g Carnaroli rice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1 Peel the prawns and put their heads and shells in a large saucepan. Chop 1 onion and add to the pan with the chopped tomatoes, a third of the parsley, the chilli, 1 litre (1¾ pints) of water, half of the wine and a pinch of salt. Cook for 20 minutes, then strain the stock, crushing the heads and shells with a spoon to extract their flavour. Reserve the stock.
2 Clean the mussels and clams and put them in another large pan. Crush 1 garlic clove and add to the pan with a drizzle of olive oil and half of the remaining parsley. Cover the pan tightly and cook over a high heat for 5–6 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until all the mussel and clam shells open. Strain the cooking juices and add them to the prawn stock. Remove most of the mussels and clams from their shells but keep a few in their shells for garnish.
3 Cut the squid into small pieces, including the heads. Finely chop 1 garlic clove and the remaining onion and fry in 100ml (3½fl oz) olive oil for about 10 minutes. Add the squid and the rest of the parsley, season with salt and pepper and fry over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Set aside.
4 Heat 100ml (3½fl oz) olive oil in a large sauté pan or large, deep-frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the remaining whole garlic clove and the shallot until golden, then remove the garlic and add the rice. Fry until the rice develops a pearly sheen, pour in the rest of the wine and leave until it has evaporated. Reheat the stock, if necessary, and add it to the pan a ladleful at a time, allowing the rice to absorb the stock before adding another ladleful (if you do not have enough stock, you can use hot water for the final additions). Continue to cook for about 18–20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the rice is al dente. Towards the end of the cooking time, add the raw prawns (not the king prawns) and squid.
5 Heat a little oil in a frying pan and fry the king prawns until they turn pink. A few minutes before the rice is ready, add the shelled mussels and clams to the rice pan and stir through to reheat.
6 Remove the pan from the heat, garnish with the unshelled mussels and clams, the king prawns and a few parsley sprigs. Serve immediately
From Sicily by Enza Genovese. Image: Sandra Mahut
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