Sleazy Seafood Risotto

Why's it sleazy?  'Cause it's cheap and easy, baby!  This was a total shot-in-the-dark experiment, and I'm pleased to report it was a total success.  This week's cooking challenge: learn how to make something edible with canned clams and canned smoked oysters.  Ew, right?  Challenge: accepted.  And what is the perfect blank canvas to use when you aren't sure if some potentially bold flavors are going to play well with others?  Risotto.

Let's talk about risotto for a second.  A lot of people are afraid of it and think it's difficult to do.  I'm here to tell you, it absolutely isn't, and it's an inexpensive way to make a classy, delicious dinner you can feel free to serve to guests.  And for me, it's an excellent way to get a little Italian flavor in my life that is naturally gluten-free.  I will walk you through the basics here, and you'll be a risotto pro in no time.

Here's what you need for Sleazy Seafood Risotto (I didn't even take detailed pictures this time because I was so certain this wouldn't be worth posting--next time I'll have more faith!):

1 c Arborio rice
1 Tbs butter
1/2 c diced sweet onion
3 diced cloves of garlic
1/4 c cooking Sherry
1 3 oz. can smoked oysters in olive oil (drained and rinsed)
1 6.5 oz can whole clams
1 small lemon
2 oz. cheddar cheese
salt (to taste)
dried dill (to taste)
Water

1. Melt butter in a warm pan and add onion.  Cook until translucent, then add garlic.  When you can really smell the garlic, add the dry Arborio rice right into the pan.  Toast the rice for a couple minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove pan from heat and stir in the Sherry.  Prepare a glass of warm water (I get mine from the tap, but you can use filtered as long as you don't pull it right out of the fridge).

2.  Finely chop your rinsed clams and oysters.  (These are so ugly, I can't believe someone ever thought, "hmm…I should eat this."  But I'm very glad they did.)  Stir these into the rice and add just enough water to float the ingredients.  Bring to a simmer.

*PAUSE.  Here is the crux of the whole risotto success vs. failure thing.  Risotto requires love and attention.  You do NOT want to dump in all the water and wait for it to cook down like you would any other rice.  It's kind of like making instant oatmeal--you initially add enough water to make it too soupy to eat as is, but you don't add so much that you think it'll be soupy coming out.  Same approach with risotto.  You add 1/2 to 1 cup of water at a time, just to get things loose and buoyant, and then you let almost all of the moisture cook out of it again.  You want to nurse the starch out of it to make your dish velvety.  You do this every few minutes, until the rice is soft and fluffy (which you find out by TASTING it.  No magic powers here, folks). RESUME*

3.  Add the juice of half the lemon, about a half teaspoon of dill, and a few pinches of salt as you continue to cook your risotto.

4.  When the rice is done, turn off the heat and add the cheese.  Stir, stir, stir.

And there you have it!  A surprisingly balanced, smooth and creamy seafood risotto.  Who knew?