Mussel and saffron risotto
Take us with you this summer.
Ingredients
1kg mussels, cleaned
125ml white wine
1 onion, finely diced
1 stick of celery, finely diced
3 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
65g butter
300g arborio or carnaroli rice
1ltr vegetable stock
½ tsp saffron
1 bunch parsley
1 lemon
Cracked black pepper
Method
Heat a medium-sized heavy-based saucepan on high. Add the cleaned mussels to the preheated pot, immediately following with the white wine and cover with a tight-fitting lid.
Give it a quick shake and allow to cook undisturbed for 3 minutes. Remove the lid and pass the mussels through a colander with a bowl underneath to reserve the stock released from the mussels. Pass the mussel stock through a fine sieve to remove any grit.
Discard any mussels that haven’t opened. Pick the mussels from their shells and set aside.
In a large heavy-based pot, sweat the onion and celery in the olive oil gently for 5-6 minutes to soften and sweeten, being careful not to allow the vegetables to catch. Season with salt.
While that’s happening, combine the reserved liquid from the mussels with the vegetable stock and add the saffron to infuse. Place on a low heat to warm.
Add the minced garlic and sweat again gently for 2 minutes.
Add the butter, allow to melt and then add the rice and cook for 2 minutes, stirring to make sure all the grains of rice are coated in the butter. Season with sea salt.
Using a ladle or measuring jug add approximately 100ml of the stock to the pot at a time, stirring regularly using a wooden spoon Allow the rice to absorb the stock and release its natural starches before adding any extra. This will take 20-25 minutes over a medium heat.
Once all the stock has been added and the rice is cooked add the picked mussels to the pot to warm through.
Taste to correct seasoning and finish with lemon juice, parsley and freshly cracked black pepper.