Fennel and Smoked Fish Risotto

I was being a good citizen today and donating blood. I give blood regularly, and this was my 15th or so donation. I walk in there all confidence, give blood, have a cookie and half a tea, and waltz on out with my half finished tea in hand.

And promptly faint in the elevator on my way out!

It's my own stupid fault. I should have sat down for a good 10 minutes. It's just that I've never had the slightest inkling of fainting after giving blood before, and I never sit there as long as they say I should.

Ah well. Lesson learnt. But I felt pretty bad for the guy I spilt my tea all over! And must have looked pretty ridiculous on the foyer of my office, in the recovery position. The poor receptionist was terrified that I'd had an epileptic fit. Luckily it was lunchtime, and there were no clients around.

Anywho, Matt and I made this risotto when my mum came over for lunch a couple of weeks ago. She was down in Welly for a conference. It was supposed to be a wet risotto, but she was late (as usual), and so it overcooked a little. But it was still damn tasty.

If you're not a fan of smoked fish, I highly recommend trying it in this kind of dish - the creaminess of the risotto really softens the flavour.

Always try and use sodium reduced stock when it comes to risotto - the stock is simmered down so much it'll be overly salty if you use the regular stuff.



Fennel and Smoked Fish Risotto (Serves 4-6)

50g butter
1T oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 bulb fennel, sliced as thinly as you can
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2c arborio rice
Splash white wine (1/2 c or so)
1 - 1 1/2 litres fish stock (I made my own with some fish frames and the shell of the crayfish we ate a few weeks ago, which I froze. If you throw away the crayfish shell you should be shot)
150g smoked fish
1/2c finely grated parmesan
zest of 1/2 a lemon
finely chopped fennel tips, plus a few whole sprigs for garnish
Salt and pepper to taste
More shaved parmesan to serve

Put the stock into a pot big enough to hold it, and which has a lid. Bring up to just below a simmer, where it's steaming, but not bubbling.

Get a large pan on a medium heat. Add the butter and oil and let the butter melt. Using butter and oil reduces the smoking temperature of the butter, and stops it from browning. Because this is a white risotto, you need to try and avoid browning as much as possible here.

Once the butter is melted, add the fennel and onion. Sautee for 3 minutes or so, then add the garlic. Cook down for another minute or so. Once again, try not to brown the mixture.

Add the arborio rice, and sautee for a couple more minutes, until the rice becomes slightly translucent.

Add a ladle full of stock to the rice. Here's the key. Stir! Risotto doesn't take that long, but you really need to keep stirring as much as you can. This is what gets the rice to release it's starch and cause that creamy texture, but keeping the centre firm.

Adjust the temperature to a point where the stock isn't boiling off too much. You want all that liquid to absorb into the rice, while you keep stirring to bring out that delicious starchy goodness.

When all the liquid has absorbed, add another ladlefull. Continue to add stock whenever all the liquid has absorbed (and never before!) for about 20 minutes.

Once the 20 minutes is up, add the smoked fish. Keep adding stock and stirring (though at this point you can start to neglect your stirring duties a little). Make sure you keep a ladle full of stock for the end. If you run out of stock, start adding water instead.

After another 10 minutes, the risotto should be pretty much cooked. Test a grain or two. You want it to be a little firm (but not crunchy or undercooked) in the middle, and definately not mushy. You'll know when you've got that perfect texture.

When you have that magic, add the final ladle full of stock and stir once or twice to bring it through. Add the parmesan, lemon zest, and the fennel tips. Your risotto will hopefully be saucier than the risotto in my pictures!

Taste the risotto and season with salt (if you need any) and pepper.

Dish out into bowls, top with parmesan and the sprigs of fennel tips.