Crab and seaweed risotto

Crab and seaweed risotto is one of those recipes that takes me back to the happy memories of my childhood, walking along a blustery promenade, tasting the salt spray in the fresh sea air, the scent of drying seaweed on the tideline wafting over me.

The combination of flavours in this recipe make for a comforting, lively and refreshing meal. The crab and avocado give it a softness, the anchovies a depth of flavour while the lime and coriander lift it with a touch of zing. The seaweed and samphire add a salty boost and crunchy texture.

As this dish has salty ingredients, I tend to use plain water to add to the rice rather than chicken, fish or vegetable stock. Stock cubes tend to be very high in sodium and as rule of thumb I generally do not use them. If, however, you prefer a saltier flavour, replace the water with your favourite stock.

Crab and seaweed risotto

Serves 4

1 tbsp coconut oil or small knob of butter

1 medium red onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Pinch of salt

200ml dry vermouth

400g risotto rice

Approx 1 litre of water

350g white crab meat

100g anchovy fillets

160g sea spaghetti seaweed

230g samphire

Zest and juice of 1 lime

Handful of chopped coriander

100g freshly grated parmesan (optional)

How to cook crab risotto and seaweed

In a large pan, melt the coconut oil or butter. Add the onion and fry on a medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and a pinch of salt and fry for a further 5 minutes.

Add the risotto rice to the pan (without pre-rinsing) and stir to coat the rice with the coconut oil or butter. Add the vermouth, stir well and turn up the heat to medium hot.

Keep stirring while the vermouth reduces and is absorbed by the rice. Add a ladle of water to the pan and stir until the water has been evaporated. Continue to add ladles of water and let each ladle be absorbed by the rice before adding another ladle. This will take about 15 minutes.

Try a grain of the rice. Ideally it wants to be just slightly crunchy still. Turn the heat down to medium.

Add the anchovies and stir well until they melt into the risotto. Add the seaweed and samphire and possibly another ladle of water if the rice is drying out too much. Cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring continuously.

Add the crabmeat, coriander, lime juice and zest and combine well.

Scatter freshly prepared avocado over the top and serve up.

As an extra, you might like to add freshly grated parmesan to give the meal a creamier texture.