Black cuttlefish risotto

Risotto nero con le seppie. From Venice. This is quite a spectacular dish, but probably not to everyone’s taste. If you can’t find cuttlefish you can use squid. The tricky part is removing the ink sac when you clean them. I have to admit that I chickened out and bought a preprepared sachet. 50c well spent in my opinion. The recipe called for fish stock, but I used water as the cuttlefish has quite a strong flavour and I don’t think you’d be able to taste the difference.

Black cuttlefish risotto ingredients

Serves 4.

• 1kg cuttlefish, cleaned and the ink sacs reserved
• 1 litre fish stock or water
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 small clove garlic, finely chopped
• 175ml dry white wine mixed with 150ml water
• 350g risotto rice
• 25g butter
• salt and pepper

1. Cut the cuttlefish into strips or dice.
2. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and cook over a low heat for a few minutes, stirring from time to time.
3. Add the cuttlefish and season with salt and pepper. Go easy on the salt as cuttlefish can be quite salty. Cook until the pieces have turned white.
4. Add the wine and water, cover and simmer over alow heat until tender. Timing depends on the size of the strips, but it’l probably be around 20 minutes.
5. Stir in the rice and cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
6. Add a ladle of hot stock (or water) and continue according to the standard risotto method.
7. When the risotto is ready stir in the butter and serve.

Black risotto

Advertisements