inky dinky risotto

There are a lot of positive aspects to being locked up in surroundings that would have made the Avignon popes envious.

Time to contemplate. Books to read. Plays to act out. Movies to watch. An endless terrace for exercise.

But the pleasure in which I have been indulging with abandon is cooking. Not that it ever was, but time is not an impediment to making whatever dish I choose to make. And there are no restaurants tempting me away from my mission.

Maybe it is because I now know I have the time to cook whatever I choose that I have been noticing items on grocery shelves that would have escaped my notice in The Misty Plagueless Past. Yesterday I found a true treasure.

I was sorting through the items in Alex's cold case at Hawaii looking for something new. I already had Tillamook extra sharp cheddar. I didn't need any fresh strawberries. There was tahini at home.

And then I saw it. A jar of squid ink. That is the jar at the top. I initially passed over it, but jumped back to it when I realized I could now make some of my favorite Mediterranean dishes.

Spain and Italy (and maybe other nations surrounding the Middle Sea) have developed dishes based on the ink cephalopods spray to confuse predators. Octopus, squid, or cuttlefish cooked in their own inks are a staple in Mediterranean restaurants -- in rissotto, pasta, or served solo. The ink adds a briny breath of the sea to any of those dishes.

My favorite is cuttlefish. And that is exactly what I thought of making. Unfortunately, cuttlefish are an Atlantic product. And even though I have had squid and octopus cooked in their own ink in Mexico City restaurants, I have never seen cuttlefish on the menu anywhere in Mexico.

So, off I went to find some fresh squid or octopus. That was a dead end. Our harbor is closed. So, there is not much fresh seafood on the market right now.

I ended up settling for clams. And it was an adequate, but not bad, choice. Traditional dishes would add only a bit of onion to the seafood that forms the basis of a squid ink risotto. But I am not a keeper of traditions, Instead, I added some shitake mushrooms for a funky layer.

And, even though tradition would be satisfied to serve the risotto on its own, I decided to crown it with a sauce made of cherry tomatoes, garlic, lemon, onion, and fresh basil.

It was good. The clams held back the dish's possibilities. A fresh bit of octopus would have been far better.

And I will still have plenty of time to experiment. Before long, fresh octopus should start showing up on the shore again. And, if I am lucky, my choice will have a full ink sack.

If not, I still have plenty of ink in my refrigerator.