Risotto al Nero di Seppia alla VenezianaVenetian Cuttlefish Ink Risotto

Clean the cuttlefish and remove the ink sacs

• 1 Rinse 1400 g whole cuttlefish under running water, insert your fingers into the body to detach the connection to the arms, then gently pull out the arms with the innards.
• 2 Find the elongated silver to blue-black ink sac among the innards with your fingertips. Cut it free at the base without breaking it, place on a small plate and refrigerate.
• 3 Remove the translucent bone (cartilage) and inner membrane from the body, then lift the outer skin from an edge with your thumb and peel it off completely.
• 4 Push out and remove the beak at the center of the arms, cut away the eyes and rub off the hard sucker rings with your fingers.
• 5 Rinse body and arms 2 times in a bowl of cold water to remove sand and remaining ink, then pat completely dry with paper towels.
• 6 Weigh the cleaned edible flesh, about 800 g; cut bodies into 1 cm cubes and arms into 2 cm lengths.
• 7 Weigh 550 g for braising and 250 g for finishing into separate bowls and refrigerate both.

Prepare the fumetto

• 1 MeanwhileWhile the bones soak, roughly chop 80 g white onion, cut 60 g carrot into 2 cm rounds, and remove strings from 60 g celery and cut into 3 cm lengths.
• 2 Completely remove gills and blood from 800 g white-fish bones and heads using fingers and a knife tip, then soak in cold water for 15 minutes.
• 3 Rinse the soaked bones under running water, drain and put in a heavy saucepan.
• 4 Add the prepared 80 g white onion, 60 g carrot and 60 g celery.
• 5 Tie 5 g parsley stems together, add to the pan with 5 black peppercorns.
• 6 Pour in 2400 ml cold water and set over medium heat.

Simmer, strain and keep the fumetto warm

• 1 Just before boiling, lower the heat and carefully skim surface scum and foam with a ladle.
• 2 Maintain a gentle tremble over low heat at 85–90°C and simmer uncovered for 25 minutes.
• 3 Turn off the heat and gently strain into another saucepan through a fine sieve lined with paper towels, allowing it to drain naturally without pressing the bones.
• 4 Measure the strained liquid and add hot water if needed to reach 1800 ml.
• 5 Keep the strained fumetto over low heat at around 80°C throughout.

Dissolve the ink and divide for two uses

• 1 Take the ink sacs from the refrigerator and place in a tea strainer over a small bowl.
• 2 Slit them with a knife tip and press with the back of a spoon to strain the contents into the bowl; discard the membranes.
• 3 Add 8 g packaged cuttlefish ink to the same bowl.
• 4 Pour in 50 ml hot fumetto and whisk for 30 seconds until fully dissolved, without grains or lumps.
• 5 Divide the ink liquid into 2/3 for braising and 1/3 for risotto in small bowls, cover both with plastic wrap and place near the stove.

Make soffritto and combine cuttlefish with ink

• 1 Very finely chop 120 g white onion.
• 2 Remove the germs from 2 garlic cloves and crush with the flat of a knife.
• 3 Put 30 ml olive oil and the crushed garlic in a wide, heavy 28 cm saucepan, which will also finish the risotto, over low heat.
• 4 Infuse for about 4 minutes until the garlic is lightly colored, then remove and discard it.
• 5 Add the 120 g chopped onion and sauté over medium-low heat for 8–10 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon until translucent and melting without browning.
• 6 Add the 550 g braising cuttlefish and sauté over medium heat for 3 minutes until the surface turns white and contracts.
• 7 Add 10 g tomato paste and sauté for 1 minute to remove acidity.
• 8 Add 15 g chopped parsley leaves and the 2/3 braising ink liquid, stirring for 30 seconds until evenly black.
• 9 Pour in 250 ml hot fumetto, add 4 g salt and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

Simmer the cuttlefish for 20 minutes

• 1 MeanwhileWhile the cuttlefish simmers, cut 40 g cold butter into 1.5 cm cubes and refrigerate until needed.
• 2 MeanwhileWhile the cuttlefish simmers, start warming 4 flat serving plates to around 50°C.
• 3 Lower the heat, cover with the lid slightly ajar and simmer for 20 minutes.
• 4 At about 10 minutes, check the liquid; if it falls below half the height of the cuttlefish, add 50 ml hot fumetto.
• 5 Turn off the heat after 20 minutes.

Toast the rice

• 1 MeanwhileWhile toasting, check that the fumetto on the neighboring burner is held at around 80°C.
• 2 Set the 28 cm pan containing the braised cuttlefish over medium heat and drizzle in 15 ml olive oil.
• 3 Add 320 g Vialone Nano rice without washing.
• 4 Stir constantly with a wooden spoon over medium heat for 2–3 minutes, working the grains against the pan and oil.

Reduce the white wine

• 1 Pour in 100 ml room-temperature dry white wine at once and bring to a boil over medium-high heat while stirring.

Cook for 16 minutes with additions of fumetto

• 1 MeanwhileAt about 12 minutes, between stirring the risotto, heat 10 ml olive oil in a separate frying pan over high heat until smoking; spread in the 250 g finishing cuttlefish and sear for 30–40 seconds, whitening only the surface, then turn off the heat.
• 2 Pour in 150 ml hot fumetto and stir with a wooden spoon along the pan bottom.
• 3 Whenever liquid reduces to just level with the rice, add 120 ml hot fumetto, 10 times in total: with the initial 150 ml, the total used is 1350 ml.
• 4 Maintain medium heat and turn the rice broadly from the bottom every 1–2 minutes.
• 5 At 8 minutes from the start of rice cooking, sprinkle in 4 g salt and stir.
• 6 At 10 minutes, add all the reserved 1/3 ink liquid for the risotto and stir for 30 seconds until uniformly jet-black.
• 7 At 14 minutes, take 1 grain and bite it to check the remaining core.
• 8 Add the 250 g seared finishing cuttlefish with its pan oil and cook, stirring, for the final 2 minutes.

Mantecatura and plating

• 1 Turn the heat fully off and remove the pan from it.
• 2 Add all 40 g cold butter straight from the refrigerator.
• 3 Shake the pan strongly from side to side while stirring quickly from the bottom with a wooden spoon for 20–30 seconds to emulsify the butter into the rice.
• 4 Add 5 g salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and stir once.
• 5 Cover and rest for 1 minute.
• 6 Uncover, give one broad stir and pour equally onto 4 warmed flat plates.
• 7 Tap the bottom of each plate lightly with your palm so the risotto spreads naturally flat.
• 8 Drizzle 15 ml finishing olive oil in thin streams across the 4 plates and scatter with 5 g chopped parsley leaves.