Risotto ai Ricci di Mare (Sea Urchin Risotto)

Readers of my blog know my fondness for these prickly treasure chests of ocean gold. Previously, I shared some recipes for my favourite sea urchin shooters, Japanese style. 

Today I would like share an Italian way of eating these little ocean delicacies. 

In Italy, sea urchins are known as Ricci di Mare. They are mostly eaten during summer and simply straight from the shell, however they also commonly appear as an ingredient in pasta dishes.

One of my favourite way of eating cooked ricci di mare, is with risotto. Here is my Risotto ai Ricci di Mare recipe.

Ingredients

-  200g arborio rice

-  800ml preheated chicken stock

-  1/2 brown onion, diced

-  2 cloves garlic, chopped finely

-  1/2 cup dry white wine

-  8-12 sea urchin tongues

-  3 tbs butter

-  2 tbs freshly grated parmigiano reggiano, more to serve

1.  Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large non-stick saucepan, add brown onions and saute until the onion is soft and tender. Add garlic and saute 1 minute further.

2.  Add arborio rice and stir. Once the rice is coated in the mixture, add the wine and stir gently until it has been absorbed.

3.  Add half a cup of the preheated stock and cook over moderate heat until the stock is absorbed, stir occasionally. Repeat this process until the risotto reaches your desired softness (however it should be a little firmer than you desire as it will continue to cook for a while longer). It should take around 20-25 minutes to cook the risotto.

4.  Once the rice is cooked, turn of the heat and stir in the parmigiano reggiano. Cover the saucepan and let it rest for 5 minutes.

5.  Mash the sea urchin tongues together with the back of a spoon until it turns saucy. Stir the sea urchin sauce into the risotto, and serve on warmed plates. Top the risotto with two tongues of sea urchin tongues, and sprinkle with additional freshly grated parmigiano reggiano.

Bon appétit!

xx

Sea Urchin Shooters

Known as the hedgehog of the sea. These spiky little ocean creatures have a very rich and luscious texture, are orange in colour and have a soft briny and creamy taste. Like oysters and caviar, love for sea urchin is an acquired taste - one which I acquired at a very young age.

They are mainly served raw, with either a squeeze of lemon (Mediterranean style), or with soy and sometimes wasabi (Japanese style), however over the years many more ways of eating these delicious golden tongues have been developed.

A very simple, yet sophisticated way of eating sea urchin is to shoot it! Here are two simple sea urchin shooter recipes for you to try at home!

Sake Sea Urchin Shooters (portions per shooter)

-  one shot chilled dry sake

-  1/2 tsp mirin

-  one to two sea urchin tongues

-  chopped mint leaves

-  squeeze of fresh lemon juice

1.  Pour the mirin and one shot of sake per glass (you will need a glass that could fit more than one shot).

2.  Add one to two sea urchin tongues per glass, top with a the chopped mint.

3.  Add a squeeze of lemon juice.

Now SHOOT!

Sake Ponzu Sea Urchin Shooters (four shooters)

-  one tbs rice vinegar

-  one tbs light soy

-  two tbs mirin

-  four tbs chilled dry sake

-  one quail egg yolk (or half chicken egg yolk)

-  finely chopped green onions

1.  Mix the sake, rice vinegar, soy and mirin together to make the sake ponzu.  Chill for 1 hour in the refrigerator.

2.  Add 2 sea urchin tongues, one egg yolk per glass and top with the sake ponzu mix.

3.  Top with the chopped green onions.

Now SHOOT!

Bon appétit!

xx

Zucchini bolognese

So recently, I have been trying to change my old eating habits. Bad eating habits to be exact. As a foodie I find that extremely difficult as above all, I like tasty food and we all know, food cannot be healthy and tasty at the same time. As a matter of fact in the food-world, most would agree that these two concepts are mutually exclusive and cannot co-exist. Not true.

The secret is in substitution. I have discovered that by exerting a bit of creativity you could substitute bad ingredients, with cleaner alternatives. My current favourite is substituting dressing (and sauce) for natural low fat Greek yoghurt with a squeeze of lemon juice and a handful of fresh chopped herbs! You could even jazz that up a bit more by throwing all that, and some avocados in a food processor until you have a delicious dressing/dip that just about goes with anything!

This day, I was looking for a substitute for pasta - another one of my favourites. After much research online I discovered that zucchini could work as pasta substitute. How? Here's a very simple recipe for my guilt-free 'spaghetti bolognese'.

(Note: I am not big with measuring and I cook with intuition so the following measurements are estimates only and can be adjusted according to your personal preferences)

Ingredients
-  2 large zucchinis
-  400g minced lean beef
-  2 x 400g can of diced tomatoes
-  4 tbs tomato paste
-  1 small brown onion
-  1/2 cup of roughly chopped basil
-  2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
-  1 tsp olive oil

The fun part is making the 'pasta'. A good friend recently gifted me with the perfect Christmas present for my new-founded clean-eating hobby - a mandolin (or slicer). All you need to do is:

1.  Slice the zucchini lengthwise (tip: keep the skin and discard the seedy middle bit) then shred the sliced zucchini lengthwise until you have long strips of spaghetti-looking zucchini.

2.  Heat the oil in a saucepan and saute the onion and garlic until the onion is soft and brown.  Add the mince and cook until browned.

3.  Add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste and half the basil. Simmer for 15 minutes until you have a nice thick sauce. Stir in the remaining basil.

4.  While simmering the pasta sauce, bring a pot of water to the boil, toss the zucchini in and turn the flame down so that the water is just simmering. Wait for one minute (for firmer, more 'al dente' pasta). Drain the zucchini with a colander (tip: the zucchini retains water so place a piece of kitchen paper in the colander with the zucchini and leave it there for a while to soak up some of that excess water).

5.  Divide the 'pasta' on serving plates and top it generously with the sauce. 

6.  Garnish - food presentation is important and we eat with our eyes first!

Bon appétit!

xx