1 litre of water
1 small carrot, chopped
2 small tomatoes, squashed
1 bay leaf
A small bunch of parsley
1/4 bulb of fennel, finely chopped, tops saved
700g of seafood (mussles, prawns, clams, monkfish, squid etc...)
1/2 tsp of fennel seeds
a pinch of crumbled chillie (optional)
a pinch of saffron (optional)
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped (optional)
1 stick of celery, finely sliced (optional)
200g risotto rice
1 glass of dry white wine
30g of butter
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
First thing to do is your stock, that means getting a pot and adding the water, carrots, bay leaf, tomatoes and a sprig of parsley to it. Place it over a medium heat and bring it to the boil. If you are using any fish this is the time to add them to the stock along with your prawns. Simmer the fish for about 10 minutes but remove the prawns as soon as they turn pink.
Once the fish is cool enough, start flaking the meat away from the bones and peeling the prawns. Return the bones and prawns heads to the stock and simmer for another 15 minutes.
Now start your risotto by heating the olive oil and half of the butter, add the onions, garlic, fennel, fennel seeds, saffron, chillie and celery. Fry very slowly for about 15 minutes without colouring.
While the vegetables are softening, pass the stock through a sieve and throw away the vegetables and bones. Keep the stock, and keep it on a very low simmer. Saving a bit on the side to finish off the dish.
When the vegetables have softened, add the rice and turn up the heat. The rice will now begin to lightly fry, so keep stirring it. After a minute it will look slightly translucent. Add the wine and keep stirring.
Once the wine has been absorbed by the rice, add the first ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to a simmer so the rice doesn’t cook too quickly on the outside.
Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring and massaging the creamy starch out of the rice, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. This will take around 30 minutes. Taste the rice — is it cooked? Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite. Don’t forget to check the seasoning carefully. If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked, add some boiling water.
Once your rice is cooked and that means that it should be creamy but the grains should still be firm (al dente), you can add your flaked fish and shellfish. After 3-4 minutes the shellfish should be opened.
Remove from the heat and add the remaining butter. Check the seasoning and drizzle with a glug of extra virgin olive oil and the juice of your lemon. Stir well and place a lid on the pan and leave to sit for 2 minutes.
Serve the risotto topped with a drizzle of olive oil, the remaining stock, the chopped parsley and fennel.
Enjoy