When I eat this orange risotto I just pretend I’m on a terrace facing the sea. The salty breeze caressing my face and the sound of the waves mixed with the squeak of seagulls as a background. …Yeah, I need a vacation.
This dish has a very refreshing and summer-y taste. It’s a perfect lunch or dinner for any occasion. You’ll only need a few basic ingredients and in just 30 minutes you’ll feel like you’re eating at a seaside restaurant.
Choosing the Oranges for this Risotto
Even though I added orange before in seafood salads, I’ve never had an orange risotto so the idea intrigued me. Could it work? Or would it be too sweet? The squid has a really delicate flavor and it can be easily overwhelmed so the good thing to do in this case is to add the orange juice a little bit at a time while the ricecooks and taste every time to be able to find the right balance and stop at the right moment.
The flavor will also depend on the type of orange you use because we know that every orange has a different flavor: Seville orange is bitter while the Navel is sweet and Blood oranges are somehow sour and sweet at the same time. For this risotto I used Navel oranges but you can also experiment with different varieties. See this guide for more details on orange varieties.
I preferred to choose a sweeter variety because it’s easier to balance the flavor with salt. While it’s more difficult to balance the sourness.
The Recipe
If you like this recipe, try also these Risottos:
Orange and Squid Risotto
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup Carnaroli Rice
- 1 Orange, juice and zest
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 1/2 Lemon zest
- 2 large Squids
- 1/2 White Onion
- 2 cups Fish or Vegetable Stock
- Parsley
- Black Pepper
- Olive Oil
Instructions
- Clean the squids and cut it into rings, place them in a bowl and add 2 tablespoons of orange juice, oil, salt, pepper and let them marinate for about 10 minutes in the fridge.
- Drizzle a pan with oil and toast the rice for 2-3 minutes, then add the squids with the marinade and let evaporate the liquid. Then add a couple of ladles of stock and wait until it's all absorbed before adding some more. Cook the risotto for about 15-20 minutes.
- Halfway through the cooking, stop adding stock and start adding orange juice to the rice, a little bit at a time tasting often to find the right balance of flavors.
- When the rice is cooked "al dente", turn off the heat and add the zest of the orange and the lemon (about 1 tablespoon in total, or less), the chopped parsley and finally stir in the butter to make it creamy.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
If you like this recipe, you can leave a comment and a star rating to support me. ★★★★★
Thank you so much!
2 Comments
Kathy
July 19, 2016 at 10:30 amSugniisrprly well-written and informative for a free online article.
Jessica
July 19, 2016 at 2:22 pmThank you so much Kathy! 🙂