Risotto with Clams
Thinking of the clam risotto, I am so happy because I know I can get beautiful, fresh, local clams, easily. They are actually farmed in the bay by a friend of ours and don’t need very much scrubbing at all. Watching them open in the pan, one by one, is such a treat.
It was quick work to remove then from the shells, chop and reserve.
Onion, garlic and parsley go into the rice as a flavor base.
The liquid is water and the juice from cooking the clams.
I used the delicious olive oil, from Lake Garda, which I brought home from Italy, to finish the risotto. It wasn’t as runny as I had hoped but the flavor was perfetto!
Another wonderful- sounding risotto. I’m using clams tonight for one of my up-coming fish dishes. It’s whole fish stuffed with shellfish(clams, mussels and shrimp). I love clams, so I’ll have to try this risotto sometime. I’ve only been able to find aborio rice here, and it’s really expensive. My husband was in Phoenix last week and he stopped in at a Trader Joes and boughte 10 boxes of aborio rice! I think I’ll be making lots of aborio and even if it’s not the premiere rice to use, it’s what I’ll be using.
Cindy, don’t fret about the arborio. I used nothing else for decades, and in Italy it is the most popular variety. Carnaroli has some fine qualities, but in the end it’s not the rice – as long as it is a variety grown for risotto – but what you do with it.
Jan – it is Jan isn’t it ? – how lucky you are to have Garda olive oil. That’s one item you have to bring back with you because you can’t find it here. As for the consistency, yes looser would be better. It’s a matter of judging when the rice is nearly done and making sure there is enough liquid in the pot to carry it through to completion with some left over.
Jan, this looks beautiful. I envy you your clams!