SEAFOOD

  

 

SERVES 2 AS A MAIN COURSE

 
Samphire can be a little tricky to find, but it is worth the effort. We rank it right up there with asparagus as a vegetable, and you could use asparagus in this recipe if you can't get samphire.

The best way of getting the crab meat is to pick a freshly cooked crab yourself. We were a bit lazy when we cooked this. Our local fishmonger sells already picked crab meat by the pound, so we bought some and used the rest with some pasta the following day.
 

INGREDIENTS
 

FOR THE RISOTTO

6 oz (170 g) Arborio Rice
2 oz (60 g) Samphire
1/2 lb (225 g) White Crab Meat
6 oz (170 g) Finely Chopped Onion
2 Cloves of Garlic Finely Chopped
1/2 Teaspoon Saffron Strands
2 Tablespoons of Parsley Finely Chopped
1/2 oz (15 g)Unsalted Butter
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Juice of Half a Lemon
1 1/2 Pints (840 ml) Vegetable Stock
4 Tablespoons (56 ml) Dry White Wine
3 Tablespoons grated Parmesan Cheese

FOR THE VEGETABLE STOCK

1 Medium Sized Potato
1 Medium Sized Carrot
1 Medium Leek White Part Only
1 Medium Sized Onion
2 Cloves of Garlic
1 Stick Of Celery
1 Bay Leaf
1 Small Bunch of Parsley
12 Black Peppercorns
5 Fl. oz (150 ml) Dry White Wine
2 Pints (1.2 Litres) Water
 

PREPARATION
 

THE RISOTTO

Start by chopping everything first. Once you start, you will need all the ingredients to hand, as you will need to stir the risotto continuously. Also, do not wash the rice.

In a large pan gently fry the onion and garlic in the olive oil. We need them to be soft, and translucent, not brown.

In a separate pan, bring the Vegetable stock to simmering point. If you haven't already made some, the recipe is at the end of this page.

Bring some water to the boil and blanch the Samphire for about a minute. Do not add salt to the water, as the samphire is salty anyway. Drain, and put the samphire in cold water to stop it cooking, and put to one side until we are ready to use it.

Now add the rice to the onions and stir so the grains are well coated with the oil, which should take a couple of minutes only. Add The white wine and allow it to be adsorbed

You can now start adding the hot stock one ladle at a time, waiting until each ladleful has been absorbed before adding the next. With the first ladleful, add the saffron strands Stir continuously. It is important that the stock is hot, otherwise the rice will stop cooking when you add it.

After about 15 minutes the rice should be cooked and the risotto should have a soft, creamy consistency. Season to taste with salt, if needed, and freshly ground black pepper and add the Lemon juice.

Add the butter and parmesan and stir vigorously to incorporate. The risotto should then look creamy and shiny. add the Crab Meat and the chopped parsley and the Samphire and warm through.

 

VEGETABLE STOCK

You do not have to be exact about quantities here, use what is at hand. Roughly chop everything and put in a pan with the water.

Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Then add the wine, bring back to the boil briefly to drive off the alcohol, and leave to cool.

You can use this straight away, but if you can leave it sitting around for a few hours, the flavour will improve.