Skradin Risotto
The famous Skradin risotto, celebrated by Anthony Bourdain on his TV show No Reservations is an iconic meal from Dalmatia. The dish takes between 8 and 10 hours to prepare and, traditionally, it is prepared by the men of Skradin.
Ingredients (approx. 10 people):
- 0.5 kg red onions
- 1.5 kg veal bottom round, cut to 3x3 cm cubes
- 300 g chicken fillet
- 1.5 kg arborio rice
- Tomato purée
- Olive Oil
- Parsley, chopped
- ½ cup local Prosecco
- Grated sheep cheese or Parmesan
- Some butter
For the stock:
- Veal shank
- Veal neck
- Free range chicken (chicken back and thigh)
- Lots of root vegetables: carrots, parsley, celery, parsley leaf, a sheet of savoy cabbage and cabbage
- Some tomatoes
Preparation:
High quality local ingredients are essential for preparing the Skradin risotto, but good humour and good company are also important, since the dish takes almost ten hours to prepare! One of important components of the dish is the stock. Put all the ingredients in a large pot and cook them partly covered on low heat for as long as possible.
Sauté red onions on olive oil for 20 minutes and, after about ten minutes, season them lightly with salt to wilt. Then add veal cubes and sauté them, occasionally adding the stock until the meat is overcooked, i.e. until it turns into ‘paté’. Then add tomato purée, chicken fillet cubes and nutmeg to the mixture.
You can also add prosciutto cut into smaller pieces. Once the mixture has shortly boiled, add arborio rice, occasionally adding the stock, until the rice is cooked. Season the risotto with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and you can also add parsley. At the very end, add half a cup of local Prosecco, grated sheep cheese or Parmesan to the Risotto, and once it is cooked, stir in butter and let it rest a couple of minutes before serving. Sprinkle with grated cheese and serve with a stronger red wine.
