Calamari Risotto

Ingredients

Calamari

•     9 oz. calamari cleaned and cut

•     1 tbsp garlic infused oil

•     2 tbsp tomatoes tinned

•     Salt to taste

Risotto

•     7 oz. risotto rice    3 tbsp spring onions green part only

•     ¾ tbsp extra virgin olive oil

•     50 ml – ¼ cup white wine

•     2/3 quarts vegetable stock or hot water

•     Salt to taste

•     1 tbsp parsley chopped

•     ½ tsp garlic infused oil

Instructions

1.     Start by preparing the calamari.  Saute them in a warm pot with the garlic infused oil for a minute. Add the tomatoes and salt to taste. Mix and cook for 2 minutes. Keep aside.

2.     Put the stock or water in a pot and heat it on the fire.  The stock/water has to be hot all the time while you are cooking risotto, so that the rice temperature does not drop when you add it to it.

3.     Put the chopped green onion and the extra virgin olive oil in a pot and let it cook on a slow fire for 30 seconds.

4.     Add the rice, mix well and let it cook for 1 or 2 minutes until it becomes translucent.

5.     Now pour in the white wine and let the alcohol burn off by cooking on a high flame.

6.     Then add enough hot stock/water to cover the rice and turn the fire to medium-low. Keep cooking, occasionally stirring the rice and adding hot stock little by little, until the rice is cooked. It is going to take approximately 18 to 20 minutes depending on the rice you are using.

7.     After the first 15 minutes, add the calamari and keep cooking the rice.

8.     When the rice is ready, put the fire off, add ½ teaspoon of garlic infused oil. Mix very well and make sure that your risotto is moist (or, as we say, all’onda – which literally means wavy) and not sticky. You can do that by adding 1 or 2 extra tbsp of hot stock if needed.  Check for salt and season to your liking.

9.     Serve your risotto hot, with some chopped parsley on the top.