Salmon and Fennel Risotto with Carrot and Pumpkin
Lírah products: Chardonnary Verjus
Serves: 6-8
Difficulty: Intermediate
Prep time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp. butter
- Salt and pepper
- ½ cup Lírah Chardonnay Verjus
- 1/2 diced brown onion
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- Zest of ½ lemon
- 1500 mL of vegetable or chicken stock
- 1 small fennel trimmed and diced
- 2 cup diced pumpkin, peeled and seeded
- Mascarpone
- 2 x 180 g chopped salmon potions
- Spinach leaves for garnishing
- 2 cups of risotto rice
- 1 carrot peeled and diced
Description
I love being able to throw recipes together especially when I have a few mouths to feed and not much in the fridge, I think it’s the satisfaction of being able to just combine flavours and be beautifully surprised when they all come together. This recipe is one of those, I only had two salmon fillets, a small wedge of pumpkin, one carrot and had risotto in the pantry and 5 adults to feed so a risotto it was. I always find that when you roast of brown of the vegetables before adding them to the risotto they give off so much more flavour. I was a little indulgent and topped this dish with a very huge dollop of mascarpone, to which I felt it went perfectly.
Method
- Place the stock into a saucepan and onto a low heat bringing it up to a simmer. Heat the butter and the oil in a saucepan until hot and fry the carrot and the pumpkin until golden but still firm, remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add in the diced onion and fennel and cook for 3 minutes, pour in the risotto and the verjus and stir until the verjuice has been absorbed. Ladle in about 1 cup of the hot stock stirring it into the rice until all the stock has been absorbed. Continue with the stock until the rice is just cooked, or still has a bite to it, this will take about 10 – 15 minutes depending on the heat although always cook the risotto over a moderate temperature. If you have run out of stock add some more to heat up.
- Add in the lightly browned vegetables into the risotto and the diced salmon with the seasoning and lemon zest. If the risotto is too thick add in more stock it should be the consistency of a runny porridge. Therefore, it is important to turn off the heat when the risotto still has a bite as it will continue to cook and absorb the stock after the heat is off, so you may need to add in more stock just before you serve it so that it doesn’t end up a gluggy mess.
- Stir a good tablespoon of the mascarpone into the pot and then garnish each of the bowls of risotto with some spinach, mascarpone and fresh fennel fronds.
Alternative
Try this recipe sprinkled at serving time with Caramelised Garlic Balsamic