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Friday 18 October 2013

It's Friday..... Fish

I pottered to the market today to pick up some fish. It's been a hectic week so I wanted to be a little creative.

 I had ordered some fish from a new supplier that had been recommended to me. smoked Langoustine, smoked muscles and some good kippers for Sunday breakfast were on the cards but I forgot to read the small print so they won't be delivered until next week (more about that then).

 Disappointed, I decide to go to the market and pick up fish from there. Another disappointment was at hand. 'Pete the fish man has left the market' read the sign on his old stall. Creativity almost crushed I remembered the new Waitrose just around the corner. In I went and discovered just what I needed for a weekend of fun. Shin of beef with marrow bone, Welsh lamb loin fillets, kiln baked salmon in a sticky barbecue sauce. English cob nuts, British blackberries, asparagus and some herbs.

Having got home I prepared the lamb ready for tomorrow (and you will have to wait until then to find out what I did). Now I needed something quick and tasty for tonight.

I put a large pan on the stove and softened three thinly sliced shallots and a finely minced clove of garlic in a tablespoon and a half of olive oil. After a minute or two I added a cup and a half of Arborio rice and  stirred it for a couple of minutes before adding the tail ends of the asparagus, coarsely sliced, and a cup of diced butternut squash.




 I then added enough water to cover the ingredients and a good pinch of salt. Brought it to the boil and simmered it for 10 minutes. I have a great stainless steel steamer that just happens to fit my large pan. I added more boiling water to the risotto to cover the swelling ingredients and placed the steamer on top. I put the asparagus tips in along with the salmon which I had placed in a little foil to prevent the sauce running off into the risotto. 5 minutes later I checked the water level and prepared to plate up. After another 2 minutes I took the steamer off the pan, turned off the heat and let it all rest for another 3 or 4 minutes.

Risotto seasoned to taste and spooned on the plate. Asparagus tips arranged and topped off with a little knob of butter before placing the salmon on top.


A nice Sauvignon Blanc (Romanian)  with enough citrus to cut through the rich salmon and....

Hello Weekend

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