Seafood Risotto: An Interesting History

By Smith Rodney

There is nothing better than sitting down for a fine meal and be served a large helping of seafood risotto. This Italian staple can be made with a variety of flavors and its smooth creaminess never fails to impress. The interesting thing about risotto is that it was never intended to be this delicious, the entire dish was supposed to be a joke.

Rice was brought to Italy and Spain by the Arabs in the fourteenth century and it was discovered that the climate was perfect for the growth of the gain. Soon rice became a main staple of the region and there were many wonderful recipes that followed.

In 1574 there was a glass craftsman that was creating stained glass for a church that was being built. There was some question as to the materials he was using and he was being teased. As a way to get back at these people for teasing him, he made a rice dish loaded with saffron, intending to make them all sick, instead they all found it very tasty and risotto was born.

Later Italian seafood was added and Italian seafood risotto was introduced to the world. Today risotto is made with a variety of different types of rice; Arborio, carnaroli, padano, and vialone nano. These are short grain rice that has the high starch content needed to create seafood risotto.

To make a risotto you first sauté the rice with onions, garlic, butter and olive oil, then over a low heat you add white wine to the rice and allow the rice to absorb the liquid. Next, very hot seafood stock is added in small amounts and the heat is raised. Risotto must be constantly stirred at this point in order to release all the starch from the rice, once a creamy consistency is reached, the risotto is taken from the heat and cold butter is added in order to improve the creaminess.

For other forms of risotto grated cheese would be added, but in Italian cooking seafood and cheese are never mixed, so for risotto you add no cheese. Your risotto needs to be eaten while it is hot because as it cools the starch causes it to clump together. Also you need to cook your seafood risotto until it is just liquid enough to spread out on a plate, but is has no extra liquid.

Whether you decide to make your own risotto or head out to your favorite dining experience there is nothing that can touch the taste of the perfect risotto. The creamy rice and wonderful flavor is always the perfect beginning to the perfect meal.

Seafood risotto is considered one of the staples of Italian cooking, but do not hesitate to try other flavors, you know that a risotto is going to make your pallet happy.

Rodney is a seafood risotto lover who has always loved talking about it. Check out my blog about Seafood Risotto for amazing seafood risotto recipes. SeaFoodRisottoRecipes.

Article Source: EzineArticles

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Risotto: Delicious Recipes for Italy's Classic Rice Dish, by Maxine Clark and Martin Brigdale. This authentic collection of the best risottos Italy has to offer features both popular favourites and lesser known dishes. An introduction to Simple Risottos shows how to create a basic White Risotto step-by-step and includes a Pesto Risotto and Saffron Risotto. Ideas for risottos with Vegetables include Butternut Squash, Sage and Chilli Risotto; Fennel and Black Olive Risotto; and Wild Mushroom Risotto. Try an extra indulgent dish with Cheese & Eggs - choose from Mozzarella and Sun-blushed Tomato Risotto with Basil; Gorgonzola and Ricotta Risotto with Crisp Sage Leaves or Truffled Egg Risotto. Recipes for Poultry & Game include Chicken Liver Risotto with Vin Santo and Duck Risotto with Wilted Spinach. Hearty and satisfying options with Meat, Sausage & Bacon are Salami and Borlotti Bean Risotto or Risotto with Red Wine, Mushrooms and Pancetta. A selection of Fish & Seafood recipes features Caper Risotto with Grilled Tuna and Salmoriglio Sauce and Crab and Chilli Risotto. Other Ways With Risotto includes variations on the risotto theme including Rice croquettes with tomato sauce. Maxine Clark teaches at Alistair Little's Tasting Places in Sicily and Tuscany. She is the author of many books......More

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Lundberg Organic Porcini, Wild Mushroom Risotto
Alessi Milanese Risotto
Bellino Superfino Arborio Risotto
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Italian Cookbooks

Blue Mussels Go Green: Why Sustainable Shellfish Are Safe For Your Menu

(ARA) - Sustainability is a term we're hearing more often in today's environmentally conscious world. Increasingly, Americans are examining what they eat, where it comes from and how the environment is affected by the foods they choose.

When it comes to seafood, farmed blue mussels are one of the greenest choices around. In fact, Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Program lists farmed mussels as a "super green" seafood product. Seafood Watch bases its selections on a variety of factors, including the fishery, habitat, species, management and other factors that affect each species, as well as their Omega 3 content.

"Nearly 75 percent of the world's fisheries are fished to capacity, or overfished, but our seafood choices have the power to improve that situation," says Linda Duncan, executive director of the Mussel Industry Council of North America. "Blue mussels are grown naturally, in their own environment. They're harvested by hand in Atlantic Canada and shipped fresh to your local restaurants and grocery stores."

And mussels grow in abundance. Each female releases as many as 20 million eggs in the spring, which float in the ocean waves, get fertilized and then latch onto mussel farmers' collector ropes, where they continue to grow to maturity as they naturally would.

Rope farming also helps improve the ocean environment by creating a man-made reef to improve biodiversity below. Because mussels grow naturally, fuelled by nutrients found in the ocean, they will be available for many years to come.

"Consumers can feel good about choosing farmed, rope-cultured blue mussels because they're choosing a food that is fresh, healthy and grows in abundance," says Duncan. "Not only that, but mussels are grown and harvested in an extremely sustainable manner."

Mussel farming also happens to be a sustainable industry on land. Mussel farmers in rural communities have been growing and harvesting the shellfish for generations. Their families depend on this type of farming, and the jobs associated with processing mussels.

"When you see fresh blue mussels in the supermarket, or order them at a restaurant, you're supporting the individual farmers who work out on our northern waters all year round to harvest these shellfish. It's a very traditional industry, one which depends on and supports environmental sustainability," Duncan explains.

Mussels are a 'super green' food that offer tremendous health benefits. In addition to being low-fat, they're an excellent source of protein, Omega 3s, iron, zinc, Vitamin C and B12.

Preparing blue mussels is easy and quick. Rinse them and add to a pot with 1/4 cup of liquid. Cover and steam for five to seven minutes. They can be spiced up for more elegant occasions, or served plain with butter and crusty bread for a weekday meal.

Here's an example of a simple way to prepare mussels. You can find more information about cultivated blue mussels and other recipes at http://www.discovermussels.com/.

Herbed Steamed Mussels
Number of servings: 4. Preparation time: 5 minutes

Ingredients
• 2 pounds fresh cultured blue mussels, in shell
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced

Instructions
1. Rinse fresh blue mussels in tap water.
2. Place in large pot, cover and steam until the shells open (5-7 minutes).
3. Drain broth into a saucepan, add thyme and parsley, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Place fresh blue mussels and lemon slices in a bowl and pour in the broth mixture.

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