Risotto was one of the very first dishes my mom taught me to cook. In the 35 years since, I’ve always loved how you can invent a risotto for every taste, every location and every occasion.
Here’s my creation inspired by the most Mediterranean of Mediterranean dishes – the bouillabaisse [BOO-ya-bess; bu.ja.bɛːs] originating from Marseille in southern France.
Ingredients
- 1 onion or 2 shallots
- 2 carrots
- 1 small celery root or 2 branches of celery, or 1/2 : 1 mixed
- 1 small fennel bulb
all diced for mirepoix (approximately 3-4 mm) - 3 cloves of garlic, halved and cut into very thin slices
- 1 small leek, cut into julienne (small strips)
- 3 tomatoes, emptied and diced
- 3 sprigs flat-leafed parsley
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 piece of orange peel (around 5 x 2 cm)
- 300 g Carnaroli, Arborio or Vialone rice
- 2 dl dry white whine
- 7 dl vegetable stock
- 5 dl fish or seafood stock
- 500 g fresh salmon fillet or any other saltwater fish suitable for poaching (ask your fishmonger)
- 12 scallops (meat only)
- 12 shrimps (guts removed)
- olive oil
- vegetable or peanut oil
- salt, pepper
Method
- Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a large pot.
- Add mirepoix vegetables and garlic. Braise lightly for 5 minutes.
- Add leak and rice, braise for another 5 minutes.
- Add white wine, saffron, bay leaf and orange peel.
- Increase heat and reduce liquid almost completely.
- Add 5 dl of the vegetable stock, all fish/seafood stock and herb sprigs. Bring to a simmer. Don’t stir!
- Place fish on a skimmer (in portions if needed) and poach for 5-10 minutes. Ask your fishmonger for the correct time for the fish you’re buying. For salmon, 5 minutes work well. Set aside.
- Once the fish removed, continue cooking the risotto until “al dente”. Stir from time to time. Total cooking time from when you added the rice will be around 30 minutes depending on type of rice. If the risotto thickens too much, gradually add some of the leftover vegetable stock.
- In the meantime, sauté the scallops and shrimps over medium heat in a mixture of olive and other oil.
- A few minutes before the risotto is finished, remove the herb sprigs, bay leaf and orange peel.
- Break the poached fish into bite-sized chunks. Carefully mix into the risotto and let heat.
- Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
- Serve risotto in pre-heated deep plates, with seafood arranged on top and a thyme sprig as garnish.
