SMOKED MUSSELS RISOTTO

Smoked Mussels Risotto image

Provided by Marian Burros

Categories dinner

Time 4m

Yield 2 servings

Number Of Ingredients 8

3 ounces whole onion or 2 ounces ready-cut onion ( 1/2 cup)
Olive oil spray
4 to 5 cups fish stock, or mixture of fish stock and no-salt-added chicken stock
6 ounces smoked mussels
12 ounces whole yellow or red pepper or 11 ounces ready-cut pepper (2 to 2 1/2 cups)
1 cup Arborio rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
4 tablespoons no-salt-added tomato paste

Steps:

Heat nonstick pan while chopping whole onion.
Coat pan with olive oil spray and, with heat on medium high, saute onion until it begins to brown.
In another pot, heat stock to a simmer.
Rinse mussels in strainer under warm water; drain and cut in half.
Chop whole pepper, and add to onion when onion has begun to brown. Stir and cook about 2 minutes.
Add rice and wine to onion-pepper mixture, and cook over high heat about 1 minute longer, until wine has almost evaporated.
Add 1 cup of the stock to the rice mixture, cooking over medium-high heat and stirring occasionally. When liquid has been absorbed, add another cup of stock, along with the tomato paste, stirring well to blend in paste. Continue adding stock and cooking, with occasional stirring, until rice is soft but still firm. With the last cup of stock, add the mussels to the mixture. Do not cook away all the liquid: the mixture should be slightly runny.