, Step by step

Risotto of smoked haddock with spring vegetables

A real winter warmer.

Mark Stower, Director of Food and Service.

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 25-30 mins

Serves: 6

Ingredients

600g smoked haddock, cut into portions
300g arborio rice
50g shallots, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
12 asparagus spears
Small bunch of chives, finely chopped
Bunch of asparagus or a small pack of fine green beans
50ml olive oil 80g leeks (white part only), thinly sliced
1000ml of vegetable stock (use 2 stock cubes)
200ml semi skimmed milk
Pea shoots

Method

Step 1

Place a large saucepan over a medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the shallots, garlic and leeks, stir then cover with a lid and allow to soften gently for around 5 minutes.
Step 2

Add the rice and carrot to the saucepan and stir through the shallot mixture. Then add the vegetable stock a little at a time, stirring regularly, and cook for 20 minutes until the rice has a nice soft ‘bite’.
Step 3

While the risotto is cooking, gently poach the haddock by placing it into some warmed milk in a wide, plan saucepan over a gentle heat. When it has cooked through remove from the milk and put to one side.
Step 4

When the risotto is almost done, boil the asparagus spears in water for 1 minute and then put to one side.
Step 5

Finish the risotto with chopped chives and a little milk. Check the seasoning and add a little salt and pepper if required.
Step 6

Now everything is cooked, place the cooked risotto into individual bowls and place the cooked haddock portion on top. Garnish with the asparagus and pea shoots.

Nutrition

Mark’s delicious risotto is a well-balanced dish providing all the necessary elements of a healthy meal – a low fat source of protein combined with plenty of starchy carbohydrate and some vegetables.

A risotto is a good way to get fish into the diet – ideally we should aim to eat 2-3 servings of fish a week – and if the family are not keen on eating a whole piece of fish it would be possible to flake the cooked fish into the risotto before serving it.

Smoked fish can be salty, so it’s worth seeking out the lightly smoked and naturally coloured smoked haddock varieties, which should contain less salt.

This dish contains about one of the recommended daily 5 portions of vegetables but in nutritional terms the meal could be perfected by serving the risotto with some lightly cooked green vegetables, such as spinach or broccoli, or with a tossed green salad.

DR JULIET GRAY, COMPANY NUTRITIONIST