This fantastic risotto with cockles was made by the great Mauro Lorenzon of the legendary Mascareta wine shop in Venice. He cooked it in front of our eyes, he offered it to us and finally he revealed its secrets with great altruism. It’s not good, it’s very good, and it’s unusual, the result of attempts and experiments that ultimately achieved perfection.
In addition to the cockles, the other key ingredients are anchovy sauce, mandarin and a pinch of rice flour. I realize that these are not commonly used ingredients, but they are really worth it.
Ingredients for two people
150 grams of rice (6 handfuls)
two teaspoons of rice flour
anchovy sauce
1 mandarin
300 grams of cockles
2 cloves of garlic
oil, salt and pepper
garlic
parsley stems
cognac
prosecco
vegetable broth (or vegetable stock cube, but I didn’t write it)
Let’s start with the cockles. Let them drain in water with a handful of salt. It takes a couple of hours in which it is better to change the water.
Once the sand has been purged, we sauté (a lot of oil) with a clove of garlic and some parsley stems and pepper, and deglaze with plenty of prosecco.
Once opened, we drain them, keeping the precious sauce.
Let’s start with the risotto: sauté a clove of garlic, brown the rice and add the cognac (waiting for it to dry), and then with the prosecco.
We add the vegetable broth and our precious cockle sauce. At this point, not being able to add fat for creaming, our brave Lorenzon adds two teaspoons of rice flour dissolved in the edge (“starch calls starch” says Lorenzon).
Let the risotto dry and once cooking is complete, add a drop of anchovy sauce (let’s say a teaspoon), a squeezed mandarin (better without seeds) and the shelled cockles.
Serve with a drop of raw oil and a sprinkling of pepper.
Not easy and with expensive ingredients, but it’s a fantastic risotto!
