Recipe N°74 Artusi: Il Risotto con le seppie alla Fiorentina

RISOTTO NERO COLLE SEPPIE

alla fiorentina

(Black Risotto with Cuttlefish)

from Florence

Here I am, posting you a recipe from the Old Book: “The Science in the Kitchen and the Art of eating Well”, by Artusi. I prepared this dish yesterday, in this season the squid are very good and fresh… I recommend them to you.

I don’t think you have to change nothing, it’s perfect…you can just mix the beets with some spinach… if you like. I didn’t add the black ink, becouse I’d like to taste a different kind of flavor. But I prefer this dish whit it.

Cuttlefish (with its ink sack if you like

Rice Onions

Garlic

Olive

Oil (Evo: Extra Virgin Oil)

Green Beets

This invertebrate (Sepia officinalis), which belongs to the family of molluscs and cephalopods is called ink (ink) in Florence, maybe for its bag containing a black liquid that can be used as ink to defend itself (the nice Tuscan language, see many words often formed by similarities). Tuscans, especially Florentines, put green beets in this dish.

Skin and open the squid to remove unecessary parts, (bone, mouth, eyes, and stomach), put aside the ink sacks. Wash the squid and cut into cubes (Cleaned, they should weigh about 1 1/2 pounds, or 700 g.)
Finely chop two small onions, or even better, an onion and a clove of garlic, and sauté the mixture in a pot, in a quarter cup of olive oil good. When lightly browned, add the cuttlefish and wait until they start to color before adding about a pound and a half of well washed, ribbed, and coarsely chopped green beet. Mix well and let the mixture simmer for about half an hour, then add 3 cups of rice (the weight of the cuttlefish) and the ink. As soon as the rice absorbs the color from the ink, add hot water and finish cooking the risotto (stir in water, a ladle at a time, until the rice reaches the stage “al dente”). The rice should not be overcooked, and when we say dry means the product must be a mound on a serving platter.

You should, in general, accompany rice with Parmesan.
Now I will give you another method, leaving the choice of which you prefer to you. No beets, no ink, and when the squid begin to color, as above, add the rice and cook with boiling water and half a cup of tomato sauce or two tablespoons of tomato paste. A spoonful of butter added will give the risotto grace, and when it is almost done add a little of grated Parmesan cheese. If you want an even better risotto when the rice is half done mix in 3/4 of a cup of fresh shelled peas.