Seafood Risotto

I decided to make some kind of risotto, so I went to the local supermarket to buy arborio rice.  Wow, it's expensive for something I'm not sure I'll make again.  So I made something else and waited until Sprouts was having a 25% off bulk items sale.  I got a cup of it out of the bins for a dollar.  That's plenty for 4 to 5 servings.

Arborio rice is very short grain.  It is similar to calrose rice, which is what you usually think of as the sticky rice in sushi, but more refined.  And it soaks up a lot of liquid.  What you end up with is something with a creamy, cheesy taste, even if there's no dairy in the dish.  That said, I did use cheese here, mainly because the tomatoes were a bit overwhelming.  It was a balancing flavor, not to add creaminess.

Risotto does take patience.  You have to add the liquid in stages, or the grain gets overwhelmed.  However, you don't have to stir it constantly.  That's an old tradition.  You have to stir it almost constantly.  You can take half a minute off every so often.  And it's going to take at least half an hour to cook.  This is the price you pay for a unique texture.

For the seafood, I was hoping to find something called "seafood medley", which is kind of like all the little odds and ends that the fish counter can't use for anything.  They were out, but any assorted seafood can be used, as long as the total weight is about a pound.  I ended up using half shrimp and half mahi-mahi.

1 C arborio rice
1 C (8oz bottle) clam juice
2 C water
*1/4 C dry sherry or white wine
1/2 C diced onion
1 Tb oil
*2 tsp Italian seasoning
*1 tsp dried parsley
1 15oz can diced, no-salt tomatoes
2 C chopped spinach leaves (or 1 C frozen spinach)
1 lb mixed seafood, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/4 C mascarpone cheese
salt to taste

1.  In a small saucepan, heat clam juice and water to a simmer.  Keep warm on the side.

2.  In a larger saucepan, cook onions in oil until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add rice and sautée for two minutes, until lightly toasted.  Add 1 C of cooking liquid and stir lightly until absorbed.  Every addition of liquid will require several minutes of cooking time.

3.  Add sherry and the can of tomatoes, including the liquid.  Stir until absorbed.  Add the spinach, Italian seasoning, and 1/2 C of cooking liquid.  Continue adding liquid when needed until entire amount has been added.  At this point, add seafood and stir until cooked thoroughly.  If rice begins to look dry, add another 1/2 C of water.

4.  When rice is creamy and seafood is cooked, remove from heat.  Stir in mascarpone.  Garnish with parsley before serving.

Serves 4 to 5

Difficulty rating :)