Simple Shellfish Risotto

C and I love risotto. It's hearty, warm, tasty and an elegant one-dish meal that soaks up all the yummy flavours of the stock used. Shellfish risotto is one of our favourite variations. Cooked in a rich shellfish stock—usually prawn or crab based—it goes with just about any shellfish, though we like the soft white and coral flesh of crayfish best. Alas, that day we decided to cook it last week, there was nary a crayfish to be found. So we settled on scallops, whose texture is equally tender, but with a slightly stronger taste of the sea. That's fine as long as the scallops are fresh and sweet. There are few things worse than less-than-fresh scallops to leave a stale, fishy taste in the mouth.

As a base for this winningly simple dish, I used chopped onions, garlic and bacon in a mix of butter and olive oil. Because I also added morels (C's new favourite mushroom), I added its stock to the shellfish stock to give it an extra, albeit, subtle taste dimension. To serve, a few drops of truffle oil for a touch of luxe.