Seafood Risotto

Serves 4

1 onion, finely chopped 

1 fennel, finely sliced 

1 tbsp olive oil 

300 g risotto rice 

500 ml Fish Stock 

100 g frozen peas 

3 tbsp grated parmesan 

1 lemon, grated zest and juice 

Handful of parsley leaves, roughly chopped

450 g prawns, shell on 

36 small mussels 

100 g monkfish fillet, thinly sliced 

50 g squid, cleaned and thinly sliced

Method

First, peel the prawns and set them aside, keeping the shells for later. Wash the mussels, clean them, and remove the beards. Then, place them in a pan with a splash of water, cover tightly, and cook over high heat until they open.

After straining them through a colander to remove any grit, save the liquid for the stock. Remove the meats from most of the mussel shells, leaving a few whole ones for presentation, and discard the empty shells. Prepare the stock by heating oil in a large pan and adding garlic, carrot, celery, onion, leek, and chili. After frying them for 5 minutes, add the reserved prawn shells, cook for a couple more minutes, then add tomato, saffron, fish stock, and mussel liquor. Boiling and simmering the mixture for 30 minutes, strain it through a sieve to extract maximum flavor.

For the risotto, melt butter in a heavy-based pan and sweat shallots and garlic until softened. Then, add the rice and stir for a couple of minutes until well-coated with butter. Pouring in the wine, bring it to a boil and let the rice absorb the liquid. At this stage, the risotto can be made ahead of time. To continue cooking, return the pan to medium heat and add the shellfish stock in three stages, allowing the rice to absorb each portion before adding more. Stir continuously until the liquid is nearly absorbed.

When the rice is al dente, add parmesan, which will absorb the remaining stock. While the risotto cooks, brush the remaining seafood with olive oil and grill it for a few minutes. To serve, gently mix the cooked seafood, including the mussels, into the risotto and garnish with some seafood pieces on top.