Salmon with Fresh Herb Risotto

This is a simple recipe i came across recently while eating at Lamonts. It was a lot smaller in portion size when i had it there… I seem to have an uncanny knack of making meals a lot bigger than they need to be, but then if it tastes good, i want plenty…

Ingredients:

Risotto

• Arborio or Carnaroli Rice (roughly a cup per person)
• Spanish Onion (diced finely)
• Leek (diced finely)
• Fresh Garlic (crushed)
• 500 mL chicken stock
• A handful each of basil, italian parsely, coriander, chives (basically any fresh green herbs you can get your hands on) roughly chopped
• 1 – 2 cups dry white wine
• salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Salmon

• Fresh Salmon fillets (sliced into relatively thin strips)
• Salt & Pepper and extra virgin olive oil to season
• Fresh lemon juice

Directions

Risotto

• Place your chicken stock into a large pan with an equal amount of water and bring it to the boil, then turn down the heat and let it simmer
• Fry the onion, garlic, and leek in a pan with some olive oil until soft but not browned
• Add the rice to the vegetables, stir the rice through the mixture, coating the rice
• Add a cup or so of white wine to the mixture, letting it absorb into the mixture
• Turn the heat to medium low on the pan and start adding the stock into the rice a little at a time
• Continue adding stock (i use a ladle full each time) until the rice begins to absorb and the liquid and gets softer
• Test the texture of the rice to see if it is soft enough. You want a little bite to it, or else it will turn into mush
• As the rice is nearly ready throw all your herbs into the mixture, and stir them through.
• Done !

Salmon

• Season your salmon slices with olive oil, sea salt flakes and cracked black pepper
• If you can, curl the salmon slices into a roll, it should look like a small cylinder at the end. Use a toothpick to fasten the ends if they won’t stay put
• In a hot pan, add a splash of olive oil and sear the salmon on the top and bottom. A minute or so on each side should be plenty
• Drizzle some lemon juice over the salmon as its cooking, lime juice would also add some nice flavour.
• When the salmon is cooked to your liking, serve the risotto into a large plate and add the salmon on top.
• Garnish with more fresh herbs and some crème fraîche if you like

Enjoy with a nice glass of white wine (perhaps a Semillon).