73Risotto al Nero
(Cuttlefi sh
Ink Risotto)
SERVES 4–6
Total: 55 min.
This recipe was adapted
from Enoteca Pitti Gola e
Cantina in Florence, Italy.
Chef Jeewa Atapattu
serves his jet-black risotto
al nero with bright yellow
shaved bottarga (Italian
cured fi sh roe).4 cups vegetable
stock
¾ lb. squid or
cuttlefi sh,
cleaned, bodies
fi nely chopped,
tentacles left
whole
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium yellow
onion, minced
(1¼ cups)
Kosher salt and
freshly ground
black pepper
1 small carrot,
peeled and minced
(¼ cup)
1 small celery stalk,
minced (¼ cup)
1 lb. arborio rice
(1¼ cups)
¼ cup dry white wine
1½ tsp. cuttlefi sh ink,
or more as desired
2 Tbsp. unsalted
butter
¼ cup freshly shaved
Parmigiano-
Reggiano, plus
more for serving
Bottarga, for
garnish (optional)1 In a medium pot, bring
the stock and 4 cups
water to a simmer. Addthe squid tentacles and
cook until just opaque,
1 minute. Remove to a
bowl and set aside. Keep
the stock mixture hot.2 In a large Dutch oven
or heavy-bottomed pot
over medium-high heat,
heat the olive oil. Add the
onion and season with
¼ teaspoon salt and some
black pepper. Cook, stir-
ring occasionally, until
softened, 4 minutes. Add
the carrot and celery and
cook, stirring occasion-
ally, 3 minutes. Add the
chopped squid bodies
and cook, stirring occa-
sionally, until opaque and
the edges have curled up
slightly, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the rice and sea-
son with ¼ teaspoon salt.
Add the white wine and
cook, stirring, until mostly
evapo rated, 1–2 min-
utes. Stir in the cuttlefi sh
ink, then quickly ladle in
1 cup of the stock mixture.
Cook, stirring constantly,
until the liquid is almost
absorbed, 2–3 minutes.
Repeat 7 more times, or
until all of the liquid has
been added and the rice is
tender and moistened but
not soupy. Stir in the but-
ter and cheese and turn
off the heat. Taste and
adjust the salt and pep-
per as needed, or add up
to 1 teaspoon more cut-
tlefi sh ink to reach the
desired concentration
of color.3 Distribute the risotto
among individual bowls,
then top with the
reserved tentacles. Gar-
nish generously with more
Parmigiano and bottarga
to taste if using.CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: MATT TAYLOR-GROSS (2); MICHELLE HEIMERMAN
TEST KITCHENAs we worked on the coconut crab curry (pg. 50) for our
Lisbon story, we discovered how easy it is to make coco-
nut milk. Deeply nutty and fragrant, the homemade stuff is
more emulsifi ed than even expensive canned versions.
To make it, boil equal parts fresh or bagged shred-
ded coconut and water for 1 minute, then remove from
the heat and let rest until cool. For a thicker milk, purée
the coconut and water in a blender, then strain through
cheesecloth. For a more delicate version, squeeze the
soaked fl esh by hand to extract the milk.
When making the latter, I like to stir the fl avorful left-
over fl esh into hot oatmeal or cooked rice. I’ve also been
steeping the warm milk with chai spices or grated turmeric.
—Kristy MucciTo hack a fresh coconut, set it in a sink drain to stabilize. Then,
with a hammer, carefully pound a screwdriver into the top to fi s-
sure the fl esh. Peel away the shells (drain and reserve any liquid),
and use an oyster knife to scoop out the fl esh from the inner shell.
Grate meat on the fi ne side of a box grater.Put the Hammer in the Coconut
Skip the can. Make your own coconut milk
Recently I made
khanom chan, a
multilayered, Jell-O-
like Thai dessert
(saveur.com/thai-
khanom-chan-recipe)
and got to know
pandan leaves.
A Southeast
Asian grass whose
leaves have a toasty
fragrance and nutty,
malty fl avor, pandan is
simultaneously savory
and sweet. Asian mar-
kets usually carry it in
the freezer section. In
Thai cooking it’s used
to fl avor steamed rice,Reading Thai Leaves
Pandan, a savory-sweet grass from Southeast Asiacreamy desserts, and
beverages. Pandan is
infused in the house
water at Pok Pok in
Portland, Oregon, and
New York City.
To make pandan-
scented water, bring
4 cups of water to
a boil, remove from
heat, then add 3–4
defrosted pandan
leaves. Let rest,
tasting every few
minutes to deter-
mine the concentra-
tion, 5–10 minutes.
Strain and chill.
—Kat Craddock