Black risotto recipe (and how to clean cuttlefish)

Black risotto recipe including how to clean cuttlefish instructions

Today I will make a black risotto, Croatian style. Black risotto is basically a cuttlefish risotto where you use cuttlefish ink to make it black and add some extra flavour.

This variation is popular along the Croatian coast.

For this recipe we need the following
-one big cuttlefish, about 2 pounds / 1 kg
-one cup of arborio rice
-one yellow onion
-few cloves of garlic
-extra virgin olive oil
-half a glass of dry wine (about 1 dl or 3 1/2 ounces)
-some finely chopped parsley
-parmesan cheese, handful
-vegetable or fish stock

How to make vegetable stock – add carrots, onions, celery root, garlic and other root vegetables that you have and boil it for 30 minutes. Now you have vegetable stock.

Cleaning the cuttlefish:
This is the most time consuming part of the black risotto is to clean the cuttlefish, especially if you don’t do it often.
The most important rules are: be patient and don’t break the ink sack. So go slow and it will be ok.
And watch the video, visual instructions are the easiest to follow.
Just don’t forget to remove the hard and tough parts and you will be ok.
And don’t forget to put the ink sack into the white wine when removed from cuttlefish.

Cooking the risotto
1st step – Add extra virgin olive oil and then cook chopped onions till golden. But not burned. So low heat is the best.
2nd step – When onions are golden it is time to add the cuttlefish. The heat should be medium. To get the cuttlefish tender it will take about 15, maybe even 20 minutes. And you want it tender. If, at any moment there is not enough liquid it is ok to add some water.
3rd step – Add rice. Mix it with onions and cuttlefish. I like to roast it for a minute or so before adding stock (I use vegetable stock). Never add to much of stock because you want that nice creamy consistency and not boiled rice in water. Altogether it will take about 15 minutes. Add the garlic before adding the cuttlefish ink, the later it is added the stronger will be the garlic taste.
4th step – When rice is almost done it is time to add the wine and cuttlefish ink. And stir it.
5th step – Lover the heat to I like to add some Parmesan cheese, about a handful.
6th step – When rice is done, remove from the stove and plate.

Important: the rice is done when you can still feel it bit under your tooth

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