Spread a little comfort (food): Seafood risotto 22 March 2006

Prep time: 10 minutes | Cooking time: 15-20 minutes | Serves 4-6

Risotto sounds a little fancy shmancy in the heat of the Philippines. And I take it that even those familiar with it wouldn’t really go to the trouble of making it at home.

Funnily, I’ve asked at Cibo (a popular Italian resto here) and they don’t serve it. There are only two places (that I’ve tried) that have it in their menu – Italianni’s and Bellini’s. At either place, you end up waiting for ages. (And I really wouldn’t venture another trip to Bellini’s.) Once you’ve gotten past the initial intimidation through, nothing beats eating homemade risotto.

If you’re in the Philippines, finding good quality risotto rice can be quite a task. Here’s where I buy my stash. Or be adventurous and use any local rice (malagkit varieties usually work) that’s starchy enough so it wouldn’t disintegrate after being soaked in liquid for a long time. The rice should be soft but still retain a good bite. The rice should be surrounded by an “ooze” (for lack of better word) which results from the starch from the rice thickening the stock.

To Filipinos this probably would sound like an upclassed lugaw (porridge). Yeah, precisely! But while our lugaw is usually chicken-stock based and has ginger, almost anything can be added to risotto. After all, it started out as peasant food in Italy!

Recipe follows …

You need:
Vegetable or shrimp stock, approx. 1 quart (we like to save the heads of shrimps, carrot peelings and leeks and boil them up with some salt)
Olive oil, 1 tablespoon
Onion, 2 medium (or 3 pieces shallots), finely chopped
Risotto rice (Arborio, Carnaroli, Vialone Nano), 14 oz
Dry white wine (or dry white vermouth), ½ cup
Butter, 5 tablespoons
Parmesan cheese, 3-3 ½ oz, freshly grated
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Shrimps, 6-10 medium pieces, unshelled and deveined (get the freshest you can!)
Carrots, 1 piece, diced
Leeks, 2-3 stalks, finely sliced

Directions:

1. Bring stock to a gentle simmer the stock in an easy-to-pour saucepan. Leave on low heat. (A tip from Gennaro Contaldo: the stock must be used hot or the risotto will stop cooking upon each addition of stock.)
2. In a separate pan, heat the olive oil and sweat the onion and salt for a few minutes. Then add the rice. At this point you cannot leave the pan alone until your risotto is cooked!
3. Slowly stir, continuously, ensuring that you are coating all the rice grains with the oil. You don’t want to burn the onions so keep a watch out if the heat is a little high. After a few minutes it should start to look transparent as it absorbs the flavors of the oil and onion.
4. Add the wine and keep stirring! It should sizzle and get absorbed by the rice. This also evaporates the alcohol and imparts the characteristic taste of wine.
5. Add a few ladlespoons (or pour a little) of the stock into your rice, stirring until it is absorbed. Repeat this … adding stock, waiting for it to be absorbed … until the rice is cooked al dente (soft outside but still has a bite). There should also be that “ooze” I mentioned earlier. This usually takes about 15-20 minutes.
6. At this stage, add your shrimps. They just should turn pinkish orange – do not overcook! And add your leeks too.
7. Remove from heat and beat in the butter and parmesan cheese so all ingredients come together. Italians call this mantecare. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired.
8. Leave to rest for a minute and serve in shallow bowls. The trick to eating - start eating from the edge inward so that the risotto retains its heat.

Credits to Jamie Oliver (The Naked Chef), Gennaro Contaldo (Passione) and Antonio Carluccio for inspiring us to try our hand at risotto after our first encounter with it in a TV show!