Risotto is one of my FAVORITE dishes of all time! During our time in Italy, I tried to order risotto as much as possible. From the classic Milanese risotto in Milan to a fantastic seafood risotto in Gatteo a Mare.
Moreover, if I was not ordering risotto, I was making it! Our hosts from Brescia taught me how to make authentic risotto a few times. So after first-hand experience of learning from Italians, I am excited to share how to make this authentic seafood risotto.
When you Google seafood risotto, most recipes will show the risotto plain in color or slightly yellow. Very few seafood risotto recipes will have a deep orange or red tint to the risotto. Why? Because they are leaving out one of the most authentic ingredients – tomatoes!
Again, I spent two months in Italy and all of the seafood risottos I came across had tomato sauce. I also looked at several authentic Italian cookbooks of mine and they too always have tomato sauce. Hence why this seafood risotto recipe is 100% authentic to Italy.
I hope I make my Italian hosts, family, and Italy proud!
Enjoying Seafood Risotto in Gatteo a Mare
I still remember this day like it was yesterday. My sister, uncle, cousin, Adam, and I went for a walk along the beach in Gatteo a Mare, Italy. A small coastal town in the Emilia Romagna region, where my dad’s family still lives.
Remembering this day still brings a huge smile to my face. We came across this awesome area with a soccer field and bocce ball courts. So, we found a soccer ball and began to play as a family for hours. Of course, after playing for so long, we began to have a big appetite. Luckily, the soccer fields were next to this little beach restaurant. We ordered seafood linguine and seafood risotto. To this day, these are two of the best seafood dishes I have ever had.
Sometimes, you cannot beat the simple things in life—a day on the beach with family, playing bocce ball and soccer, soaking up the views of the ocean, and enjoying authentic seafood dishes. So, this recipe is inspired by this amazing day on the beach.
What is Risotto?
Italy is well-known and famous for its risotto, a beloved creamy Italian dish made with a specific type of short-grain white rice.
Most types of risottos are grown in Northern Italy near Milan and Turin. Two of the most popular types of risotto are Carnaroli and Arborio – the latter being the easiest to find in grocery stores and what I typically use.
Risotto can transform from a simple recipe to almost anything you can imagine. From seafood risotto to wild mushroom, truffle and parmesan, beetroot, artichoke, and more. Your options are endless, you just have to be creative!
How to Cook Risotto Properly?
A lot of people will shy away from making risotto at home because it can be a difficult recipe. On the contrary, risotto is simple to cook if you have patience and love.
The correct cooking method of risotto starts with a foundation of oil to saute onion or shallots with garlic. Then you lightly toast the risotto for a few minutes and add white wine to the pot. Once the risotto absorbs the white wine, you will slowly add a ladle of hot broth. When the risotto absorbs all the liquid, you add another ladle of broth until the risotto is cooked to perfection.
During this time, you want to continue to stir the risotto to allow for an evenly cooking distribution. Furthermore, stirring also helps to refrain the risotto from burning on the bottom of the pot. If you bite into a risotto kernel and it is still chalky hard, then you need to continue the cooking process. The final product of risotto should be tender, but still firm to the bite. It should never be soft in the center.
Seafood Risotto Ingredients
In addition to risotto, the main ingredient of this dish is a variety of seafood. For the best results, I recommend buying fresh seafood but frozen seafood works too. Feel free to pick and choose your favorite seafood – just make sure you have a total of 24 ounces of seafood.
- Olive oil
- White onion
- Garlic cloves
- Lemon juice
- Tomato paste
- Flat-leaf parsley
- Parmesan cheese
- Arborio risotto
- Fish stock/broth or vegetable broth
- White wine
- Water
- Mussels
- Prawns or shrimp
- Baby scallops
- Baby squid (calamari rings)
How to Make Authentic Seafood Risotto
The first step to making this authentic seafood risotto is heating up your fish stock (or vegetable broth) in its own pot. Then you will cook the mussels separately from the risotto in a stockpot of white wine and garlic. While you wait for the mussels to steam, you can start sauteing the garlic and white onion with olive oil in a large pot, such as a Dutch oven pot. Once the mussels finish cooking (when the shell opens), keep a few mussels in the shell and shuck the rest. Set all the mussels aside.
Once the white onion is translucent add the risotto and lightly toast the kernels for 3 – 5 minutes. Deglaze the pot with white wine and lemon juice and stir occasionally until the risotto absorbs all the liquid. Then mix the tomato paste and water together and add into the risotto till it absorbs the liquid again. Slowly add a ladle of hot broth into the risotto and continuously stir until the risotto absorbs all of the broth. At this time, you will want to start a timer for 18 minutes.
It is important to not over stir, but continue to stir the risotto gently. In addition, you should only add a ladle of broth at a time once it has completely absorbed into the risotto. Do not add broth too soon.
Once 18 minutes have passed, add the shucked mussels, prawns, baby scallops, and baby squid to the risotto. Continue the process of adding broth and stirring continuously for another 7 minutes or until the risotto is cooked to perfection – tender yet firm to the bite.
Add grated parmesan cheese to the risotto to make it extra creamy and delicious. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Then garnish with chopped flat-leaf parsley and the mussels in the shell. Serve and enjoy!
Tips and Tidbits
Here are a few tips and tidbits that help me cook perfect risotto.
Proper Equipment
One of the most important elements of cooking risotto is proper equipment. I really enjoy cooking risotto in a dutch oven pot but a (high-sided) stainless steel saute pan works too. Moreover, in my days of working in a fine-dining Italian restaurant, a copper pot was the very best way to cook risotto. With that said, as long as you have a wide and deep pot that is completely level on the bottom, it will work great.
- If your pot does not have high sides, then you might have risotto overflowing.
- If your pot is not level, the risotto will not cook evenly. You will have some perfectly cooked kernels and others that are still uncooked.
Cooking Time
The cooking time of risotto can vary but the standard time is between 25 – 30 minutes for absolute perfection. It is advised to check your risotto at 20 minutes and adjust your time accordingly.
Broth
Nine times out of ten, I find that recipes never have the correct amount of broth. At 20 minutes of cooking risotto, I tend to always run out of the broth due to evaporation. So I like to always heat up more broth than needed – even with my own recipe. If I still need more broth, hot water works perfectly fine.
Authentic Seafood Risotto
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium white onion diced
- 6 garlic cloves 4 for risotto, 2 for mussels, minced
- 1 1/4 cup white wine 1/4 for risotto, 1 cup for mussels
- 2 cups Arborio risotto
- 4 tablespoon lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 tablespoons water
- 6 cups fish stock or vegetable broth
- 7 ounces live mussels
- 7 ounces prawns or shrimp
- 7 ounces baby scallops
- 7 ounces baby squid calamari rings
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated
- 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
Equipment
Instructions
- Cook the mussels first. In a stockpot, combine wine, garlic, and salt. Bring to a simmer on medium heat and add live mussels. Cover the stockpot and steam mussels on medium-high heat for 5 minutes or until the mussels open. Remove from heat and throw away any mussels that do not open. Set aside 12 mussels with shell and shuck the rest.
- Heat up the fish stock in its own pot on medium heat. If it comes to a boil, lower the heat.
- Warm the olive oil on medium heat in a large, tall-sided pot. Then add the white onion and garlic. Saute the onions until its translucent.
- Add risotto to the pot and toast the kernels for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally to not brown the kernels. Then deglaze the pot with the white wine and lemon juice. Once the risotto absorbs the liquids, mix together the water and tomato paste. Then add it to the risotto and stir until the risotto absorbs all the liquid again.
- Add a ladle of warm fish stock to the risotto and stir continuously. When the risotto absorbs ALL the stock, add another ladle and repeat this process for 18 minutes. Make sure you stir the risotto gently to distribute the cooking process evenly. Do not forget to continue to scrape the bottom of the pot so the risotto does not burn.
- Once 18 minutes have passed, add the shucked mussels, prawns, baby scallops, and baby squid to cook the seafood while continuing to cook the risotto. Keep adding a ladle of stock when needed for 7 more minutes or until the risotto is cooked to perfection – tender yet firm to the bite.
- Add the grated parmesan cheese and season the seafood risotto with salt and pepper to taste.
- Garnish with the chopped flat-leaf parsley and mussels in the shell. Serve and enjoy!
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44 comments
Dianna
I have a question about the calamari…isn’t cooking it for 7 minutes overcooking it? My experience with it in the past is that you should only cook it very briefly or it turns out tough (unless you choose to cook it for an extended time). I only have access to frozen seafood so I definitely don’t want to overcook the calamari.
I love the way your dish looks in the pictures and have never thought to add tomato to the dish! I can’t wait to try it! Thanks for posting the recipe and the great helpful comments you have noted to help make it perfect.
oursweetadventures
Hi Dianna, great question! I never found the calamari to be tough but I think it would be a great idea to add it with three minutes left so you can make sure it doesn’t overcook. I never had tomato in seafood risotto either until we had it on the coast in Italy. It’s so good!
PamB
So good that I polished the leftovers off in the middle of the night.
chris
This looks amazing, I’ll be attempting this tomorrow night
oursweetadventures
I hope you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Elle
This is absolutely delicious. I have made it twice. The only change is that I only cook the seafood for about 3-4 minutes.
oursweetadventures
Oh wow! Thank you so much! I’m so glad to hear you love my recipe. Thank you for sharing 💙
Jeremy
You will never find cheese in seafood risotto in Italia. 🇮🇹
oursweetadventures
Hi, thank you for visiting my site and commenting your input. I respectively disagree because I trained in Italy under an award-winning chef for two weeks. I learned a lot with him as well as other locals cooking in their kitchens for 3 months. And Parmesan Reggiano was like the holy grail for anything. I had this seafood risotto in Gatteo a Mare, a small costal town in Italy, and sure enough, it was served with Parmesan Reggiano 🙂
Maz
I came across this recipe after searching for something to make with a homemade prawn stock. Made it for new year’s day lunch and it turned out amazing! All the tips are super helpful, especially about the equipment which you rarely get in recipes. Just curious as to why use the seafood raw? I couldn’t bring my self to do it, I had to garlic fry it first, then set it aside and used the same pan to start the risotto. But still wanted to ask if there was a reason for using raw. Thanks!
oursweetadventures
Hi Maz, thabks for commenting and trying my recipe. The mussels are cooked before adding to risotto, but the other seafood is added during the cooking process. It does cook all the way through with the risotto 🙂
Donna Calvo
I would like to make this at home and bring it to Christmas Eve dinner at my brother’s house. What can I do ahead of time?
oursweetadventures
Hi, I’m so sorry for the late reply. I took time off to be with our 3 kids under 3 for school break. If you made the recipe, I hope it turned out well for you and your family.
Veronica
Absolutely delicious. So easy to make the best risotto I have ever eaten. The flavors were incredible.
Thank you for this recipe n
oursweetadventures
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing.
GB
No cheese with seafood? That comment can only come from someone who does not cook nor travel nor eat out. Mornay for example?
Kelly
I’ve been searching high and low for an authentic risotto recipe that replicated the dish I just had while vacationing on the coast of Italy. To my delight, I came upon your recipe and this is as close as I could find, especially because it had the redness, which you explain, was from tomatoes….but of course. I made this last night and it was as I had hoped and very close to the one I enjoyed in Italy. We found that in most of the cuisine we experienced all over Italy, is simplicity is most usually what makes their dishes so amazing. Ciao!
Mary
I have often heard of no cheese with seafood and I totally disagree. It’s about what tastes good to the individual and to me cheese complements the dish especially anything with rice.
oursweetadventures
Wow! What a compliment. That was my goal. Thank you so much! I am so happy you found my recipe and it’s as authentic as possible to having the real deal in Italy.
Gail
Can’t wait to make. Think I’ll slip a bit of lobster in. I know it isn’t recommended; however, does this reheat nicely and, any tips on doing so.
oursweetadventures
Hi there! Oooo yes that sounds good! Lobster is always a good idea. So to reheat well I always sprinkle some water or chicken stock over the rice, get a paper towel damp, place it over the risotto and reheat it. The stock/water over the rice helps bring the risotto back to life. And the damp towel makes it steam cook. Hope this helps.
T Mi
Hi. Wondering if the 7oz of mussels is weighed with or without shells?
oursweetadventures
Hi, great question! With the shells 🙂
No
Crap
Anna Bower
I made this for my boyfriends birthday tonight! Delicious! Thank you for the recipe and your story!
oursweetadventures
Aww wow, thank you. You have made my day with your compliment. Happy birthday to your boyfriend. I’m so glad y’all enjoyed my recipe. I hope you try some more of my recipes and enjoy them just as much 🙂
Michelle
Hi! This recipe looks amazing- will be trying it on the weekend for an anniversary dinner. Can I please ask how many millilitres 1 cup is? Thankyou 🙂
oursweetadventures
Hi, wow I feel honored you are making my recipe for your anniversary. And Congratulations! I did a Google search, and it said 1 cup = 236.588 milliliters. I hope that information is accurate. Good luck and enjoy!
Simon Bramwell
You call this an “authentic” seafood risotto recipe, and yet I read in many places, including in Georgio Locatelli’s book “Made in Italy”, that Italians never put cheese and seafood together, and certainly not in a risotto.
Julie
@Simon Bramwell,
When I was in Italy, I went to a very small restaurant in a tiny little village and had the most delicious seafood risotto and it had Parmesan in it
Carol CATANIA
@oursweetadventures,
I agree cheese is a must in risotto
oursweetadventures
Hi, thank you so much for commenting and putting in your input. I am sorry you do not feel this is authentic, but I trained in Italy under an award-winning chef. I learned a lot with him and other locals cooking in their kitchens for 3 months. Just like food and cuisine around the world, chefs and cooks will adapt recipes as times change and try to improve. I can assure you, this is an authentic recipe and there is nothing wrong with putting cheese on anything 🙂
Cathy
Made it tonight turned out amazing. Cooking the mussels first and the wine and tomatoe paste made it special.
oursweetadventures
I’m so happy to hear that! I’m glad you enjoyed my recipe. Thank you for sharing.
David
I only wanted to make a risotto dish to serve Barramundi on, so I didn’t add any seafood but made it as described above using a homemade seafood stock and a little white wine. I also finished it off with a little cream and finely grated Regiano parmesan…. Best I’ve ever made.
oursweetadventures
I’m so happy to hear that! That’s awesome you made adjustments to fit your preference. I truly enjoy how people use my recipes to turn them into their own! What you added sounds creamy and delicious.
Alex B
Made this last night to celebrate Valentine’s Day! Super delicious risotto and the recipe is very easy to follow. I will 100% make this again!
oursweetadventures
Aww I am so happy to hear that! Thank you so much.
Sofia
Hi! This looks great! Do you use raw shrimps? Thanks!
oursweetadventures
Hi! Yes, I use raw shrimp. You can cook them with or without the shell too. With the exception of mussels, the seafood is all cooked together during the process. Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Andy
This dish was fantastic. Felt like comfort food without the heavy creaminess. Subbed basil for parsley cause i had it fresh. Also subbed lobster tail for calamari. Don’t think it needed the lobster but I would make it again with whatever seafood looks good.
Michelle
Oh wow! This sounds so delicious. My hubby is allergic to shellfish. Could I substitute another type of protein into the dish? If so, what would you recommend?
oursweetadventures
Yes, absolutely! If you like scallops and calamari, you could keep those and just add more. Or you could enjoy a fillet of salmon over the risotto.