Croatian recipe
How to make Black risotto
crni rižot
The Adriatic coast, especially Dalmatia
Rice cooked with cuttlefish, or sometimes squid, and its own ink, which turns the whole dish a deep, glossy black. It is flavoured with garlic, onion, parsley and wine, and usually served without cheese.
Ingredients
- 600 g cleaned cuttlefish or squid, cut in small pieces
- 2 to 3 sachets of cuttlefish or squid ink (about 8 g), from a fishmonger
- 300 g risotto rice
- 1 onion, finely chopped, and 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 150 ml dry white wine
- About 1 litre hot fish stock
- A handful of chopped parsley, salt and pepper
Method
- Warm the olive oil in a wide pan and cook the onion gently until soft. Add the garlic for one minute.
- Add the cuttlefish and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring, until it releases its juices and they start to reduce.
- Pour in the wine and let it bubble for 2 minutes. Stir in the rice so that every grain is coated.
- Add the ink and a ladle of hot stock. Keep adding stock a ladle at a time, stirring often, for about 18 to 20 minutes, until the rice is tender and creamy.
- Season with salt and pepper, stir in the parsley and a little more olive oil, and rest for 2 minutes before serving.
Made it at home? Tick it off and it goes into your kitchen passport.
Cuttlefish is at its best from about April to June, and some restaurants serve black risotto only in those months.
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