For those disappointed by risotto, you are not alone. You may have ordered the $16 mushroom risotto at the fancy Italian restaurant and dejectedly watched your small mound of mush dwarfed by the plates of your companions who more wisely ordered things so much more appealing like ossobucco, scaloppini and even the pasta you vow to order next time. These more impressive plates require more strategy of eating, tackling the bone, spearing a caper or twirling a noodle while you just shoveled your little rice pearls into small bites onto your fork to make it last longer. This risotto with mussels dish puts an end to the rejected risotto preparation, primarily with the introduction of shellfish, for the strategy factor, and it’s broth, which helps loosen up a somewhat gummy dish.
10 cups chicken or fish broth
2T butter
3 cloves Garlic, grated
1 shallot with 2 nodes, minced
2 cups Aborio (or other short grain) rice
½ cup white wine
1 bunch of spinach (or 3 handfuls baby spinach)
½ cup peas (optional)
½ cup grated Pecorino cheese
2T cream cheese or goat cheese
2 Lbs cleaned mussels
1 ½ t paprika
¼ t cayenne pepper
Juice of ½ a lemon
To stage this meal you need three pans on the stove: one pot with broth on warm until just steaming; one skillet just big enough for the mussels with a lid, and a large saucepan for the risotto.
In the large saucepan, melt 1T butter, add the larger node of shallot, and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Grate 2 cloves of garlic into the rice and season with salt and pepper. Cook 2 more minutes. Add ¼ cup of the wine and cook 2 more minutes. Now add the broth, about ¾ C at a time, at 2 minute intervals or until all the broth is absorbed. You don’t have to stir all the time but keep on it. Repeat this for 16 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the remaining butter, garlic, shallot, wine and about ½ cup of broth in the skillet. When you reach your 16th minute on the risotto, turn on the burner under the skillet to high and add ½t paprika and the cayenne.
Return to the risotto pan, turning it down to low and adding the remaining paprika (peas if using) and the spinach, one handful at a time, stirring to incorporate after each handful.Season.
After the mussel skillet has been on high for 2 minutes it should be simmering. Add the mussels, some salt and pepper, cover and turn down to medium for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, add the cream cheese and Pecorino to the rice and spinach and turn it down to very low. Stir to combine cheese. After 5 minutes, make sure that all the mussels (or the vast majority, you generally loose a few) of are open. Turn off the heat and squeeze the lemon juice over.
In wide shallow bowls, pyramid the risotto in the middle best you can, it should be a rather firm risotto. Next, arrange the mussels around the mound and pour about a half inch of the broth over them (keeping the rice clean). You want the risotto to look like an island surrounded by seafood and broth. As it cools, the risotto should congeal, this way you can pick the mussels out of the shell, dip them in broth and then scoop up the risotto. The rice serves as the bread in this dish.
Serves 4
Cooking time: approx 1 hour