Seafood Risotto with Squid Ink

° Serves 6

I love to cook with squid ink, which is now available in small jars in specialty markets or can be ordered online. The product is quite adequate, and the little jars will keep for months, if not years, in the refrigerator.

Some cooks prepare risotto from beginning to end in an uncovered saucepan, adding a few tablespoons of liquid (stock or water) every few minutes as the liquid in the pan evaporates. This method requires more liquid for the same amount of rice than partially cooking rice in a pan covered with a lid, as I do, so the liquid does not evaporate. I cook the rice, covered, for 10 to 12 minutes with a precise amount of liquid, which just gets absorbed, and you can do that part ahead to make the recipe easier. Then, during the last 6 to 8 minutes of cooking (risotto cooks in 16 to 18 minutes, depending on your taste), add additional liquid a few tablespoons at a time until the consistency is to my liking. I finish it with a piece of butter and some grated Parmesan cheese, although some cooks object to cheese with seafood. While you can buy clam juice, I’ve made it a practice to reserve the extra juice when I open oysters or clams and freeze it to use in rice dishes, stews, and chowder.

• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1¼ cups Arborio rice
• 2 cups reserved clam or oyster juice, or a mixture
• ½ cup water
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
• ⅓ cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon squid ink
• 8 ounces shrimp (about 8), shelled and cut into 2 or 3 pieces each
• 8 ounces squid, cleaned, bodies cut into 1-inch-wide strips and tentacles left whole
• 8 ounces scallops, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Salt (optional, depending on the saltiness of the clam/oyster juice)
• 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

Place 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a saucepan set over high heat, add ½ cup of the onion, and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for another minute. Add 1½ cups of the clam juice, the water, and ½ teaspoon of the pepper and bring to a boil, then stir well, cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 12 minutes. Set aside until serving time or just continue with recipe if you like.

Meanwhile, place the remaining 3 tablespoons oil in another saucepan, add the remaining ½ cup onion and the garlic, and cook for 2 minutes. Add the wine, squid ink, and remaining ½ teaspoon pepper and ½ cup clam juice and bring to a strong boil, then add the seafood, stir, and bring the mixture back to a strong boil. Set aside.

At serving time, reheat the rice and add ½ cup of the juice from the shellfish mixture. Cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes, until the juice has been absorbed. Keep adding the shellfish juice, stirring, until all the juice has been absorbed. Finally, add the shellfish to the rice, along with the cheese and butter, and cook, stirring, until the risotto is silky and creamy.

Serve in hot soup plates, garnished with the parsley.

Note: You can make the same recipe without the squid ink for a regular seafood risotto.