Serves 4

Fresh crab meat is a wonderful flavouring for risotto. If you have the inclination, time and patience, have a go at cooking a live crab beforehand. This way, you can use the shells to make a flavoursome stock. Even if it takes a while to crack the shells and extract the flesh, the results will far outweigh the effort put in.

1 litre chicken stock

300g risotto rice, such as arborio, carnaroli or vialone nano

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

50ml dry white wine

Grated zest of 1 lemon

20g butter

300g white crab meat, picked through

100g brown crab meat, picked through

4 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced

1 To prepare ahead, pour 400ml of the stock into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Tip in the rice and blanch for 4 minutes or until the rice has absorbed most of the stock. Drain well, then tip on to a tray. Spread to an even layer and leave to cool. Transfer to the fridge and chill until ready. Reserve the remaining stock.

2 When you are ready to serve, heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Sweat the onion in the oil with a pinch each of salt and pepper for 5 minutes or until softened, without browning. Pour in the white wine to deglaze the pan and cook until the alcohol has evaporated and the liquid is reduced to a syrupy consistency.

3 Meanwhile, put the reserved stock in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer. Stir the blanched rice in with the onion and cook for 1 minute. Gradually start adding the stock to the rice, a ladleful at a time, stirring well between each addition.

4 Once the rice grains are almost cooked through but still al dente, beat in the lemon zest and butter until creamy. Add the white and brown crab meat and stir well. Remove from the heat, and stir in the spring onions. Check for seasoning and leave to rest for 5 minutes with the lid on.

5 Serve the risotto on warmed plates with a grating of fresh black pepper.

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