Good stock, chicken or fish and arborio or carnaroli rice – after that the technique is very simple, frozen crab will work well. For a vegetarian option try grilled courgettes or asparagus.
Serves 4
50g butter
3/4 shallots, finely chopped
350g arborio rice
pinch of saffron strands
125ml white wine
1.2 litres hot stock
80g parmesan, grated
350g crabmeat
sea salt and black pepper
juice of half lemon
handful basil leaves, chopped
Melt the butter in a large pan and sauté the shallots for a few minutes, stir in the rice and saffron, coat the rice in the shallot and butter mixture, add the wine and bubble up to reduce by half. Pour in half the stock, stirring continuously until most of the stock has been absorbed, then add more stock a ladleful at a time, letting each addition be absorbed before adding the next. this will take about 20/25 minutes, best cooked slowly, you may need a little extra stock to loosen, stir in half the parmesan, add in the crabmeat and season well. Cover the pan for a few minutes to allow the crab to heat through, gently fork the crab through the rice, add the lemon juice, maybe a little more butter and the chopped basil. Spoon into shallow bowls and top with remaining parmesan.