Seafood Risotto: The Timing Problem

Risotto with shellfish and fish belongs to the rice cooking of the Veneto, where the lagoon and the paddies of the Po plain lie within reach of one another, and Hazan treats it among the risotti of the north. The technique is that of the Venetian risotto: rice toasted in fat, then cooked by the gradual addition of hot liquid until it is creamy. The seafood version is distinguished by a single difficulty, which is that the rice and the shellfish are ready at different moments.

Risotto ai frutti di mare is a risotto of short-grained Italian rice, usually Carnaroli or Vialone Nano, the latter long grown in the Veneto, cooked with shellfish such as clams (Venerupis philippinarum or Ruditapes decussatus), mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) and prawns or scampi (Nephrops norvegicus). The shellfish are opened or cooked briefly and their liquor is strained and used with the stock, so that the rice takes the flavour of the sea. The finished dish is loose and creamy, the grains tender but firm at the centre, and the shellfish are folded in at the end so that they remain tender.

Hazan serves the risotto on its own as a first course, without cheese, since grated cheese would overwhelm the delicacy of the shellfish. A dry white wine from the Veneto, such as a Soave or a Lugana, suits it. Its acidity and mineral freshness cut through the richness of the rice and the butter or oil, and they echo the briny character of the clams and mussels without competing with them.