Ingredients

For the risotto

• 2 knobs of butter
• 1 onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• a handful of fresh thyme
• arborio risotto rice (250g)
• a small glass of white wine
• warm vegetable stock (1 litre)
• a sachet of squid ink (from the fish counter)
• 2 small squid, prepped and cleaned
• 1 lemon
• a handful of parsley, chopped
• a handful of parmesan, grated
• vine of cherry tomatoes.
  
  

For the garlic bread

• loaf of ciabatta
• big knob of butter
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 sheet of nori seaweed
  
  

Recipe

preheat an oven to 180°C.
peel and dice the onion, then fry in a hot pan with a knob of butter for a few minutes.
crush the garlic and chop the thyme, adding both to the pan and cook for a minute.
tip in the rice and stir to coat the rice grains in the butter.
splash in the wine and reduce quickly so nearly all the wine has gone.
stir in the squid ink until the rice is coated in the ink and jet black.
add the stock, a ladle at a time, stirring regularly, until rice is plump and cooked (approximately 20 minutes). Don’t add the next ladle until the last has been absorbed.
peel and crush the garlic for the bread and finely chop up the seaweed sheet.
stir the garlic and seaweed in to the melted butter and season with black pepper.
slice the ciabatta into pieces and brush generously with the garlic seaweed butter.
warm and toast the bread in the oven for 10 minutes along with the tomatoes.
slice the prepared squid into rings and bite-sized pieces, then pat dry.
zest the lemon into the risotto with the parsley, parmesan and the other knob of butter.
season the squid and fry in a very hot pan with oil for a minute.
serve the risotto in a large bowl and place the fried squid on top.
squeeze a little lemon onto the risotto and serve with the garlic bread and roasted tomatoes to garnish.

serves 4