2010 Cooking Club Week 14: Smoked Haddock and Leek Risotto

xxdilemmaxx

As no one has made a fish course yet I'm going to post up a favourite of mine. It's really tasty comfort food and easy enough to make.

Smoked Haddock and Leek Risotto. Serves 2

Ingredients:
Large knob of butter
200g cooked smoked haddock
150g risotto rice
1 leek sliced thinly
1 onion chopped finely
1 clove garlic
50ml white wine
500ml vegetable or fish stock (I had some homemade chicken stock which I used in mine)
Handful of frozen peas
2 tablspoons creme fraiche
15g grated parmesan
Chopped parsley to garnish

Method:
First you need to cook the fish, I usually poach it in some milk with black pepper and a bay leaf. Once cooked, flake the fish and set aside.
In a large pan, melt the butter. Add the onion and sweat for about 6 mins, then add the garlic and cook for a further 2 mins.
In a seperate saucepan heat the stock untl simmering, keep the saucepan covered with a lid.

Next add the risotto rice to the pan and cook for a minute or two, make sure the rice is evenly covered in the butter/onion mixture.
At this stage you can start to add the stock to the rice, add a ladle or two and stir well, I also add the sliced leeks at this stage. Stir the risotto frequently until the stock has been absorbed. Once absorbed, add another ladle of hot stock. Repeat this process until all of the stock has been used. I add the peas and haddock into the risotto just before the last ladle of stock is added. The whole process should take about 20 mins and the rice should still be slightly "al dente".

Once all of the stock has been added stir in the creme fraiche and grated parmesan. Season to taste. Divide the risotto between two heated plates, grate some more parmesan on top and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Serve with some crusty bread and a salad...

You can change the ingredients around to suit whatever you have in the fridge, I sometimes use spinach instead of peas, and add some chopped chives at the end. Have also made it before with salmon.

Have taken step by step pics but cannot find my USB cable! Is there any way I can upload them without it? If I can't find it I'll buy a new one tomorrow and put pics up then!

Faith

Sounds amazing! I can't wait to try this. I'm so far behind at the moment .

Does your computer have a slot for the memory card from your camera? If it does, you can upload them that way.

John Mason

great, thanks i am going to replace the fish with asparagus:):)

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I've been meaning to

a. make risotto

and

b. start cooking fish

for a while now, so this is a good excuse for that.

One thing, I really don't liked smoked fish, can anyone recommend something else to go in instead? D'oh, just realised it says salmon in the OP.

Nice one

Flamed Diving

Check the box that came with your camera and see if there is an adaptor for plugging your memory card into your PC.

xxdilemmaxx

Don't have an adapter to plug into the laptop will try get a new cable on my lunch break today!

Altentop

Thanks
This sounds really nice, haven't really done many risottos, looking forward to trying this

Toto Wolfcastle

I love risotto. I had a smoked haddock risotto recently in a restaurant that was overloaded with parmasan so I'd love to give it a go myself. I'll definitely be giving the recipe to my parents to try.

blueirishangel

Don't cook a lot of fish and never cooked risotto so looking forward to trying this!

Is it a stupid question to ask where would I buy the fish?
If so, I won't ask

foodaholic

Looks like I know what Im having for dinner tomorrow yum sound delish

Little Alex

Hi dilemma

Made this when I got home and just had it now. It was delish!

xxdilemmaxx

blueirishangel wrote: »

Don't cook a lot of fish and never cooked risotto so looking forward to trying this!

Is it a stupid question to ask where would I buy the fish?
If so, I won't ask

Hi, I got mine in Nicky's Plaice in Howth but I'm sure any fishmongers would have it. You'd probably get some in tesco's too. Just try to get the undyed smoked fish, it's way nicer than the bright yellow stuff!

longshanks

i've just finished eating this and good christ was it tasty. way too morish though, ended up eating enough for two. i used smoked coalie instead, the fish people were fresh out of haddock. also added some mushrooms and peas. will definitely be making this again

before


after

foodaholic

Just finished making this and thumbs up all round, usually make a mushroom risotto so this was a lovely change. Real comfort food. Will post photos later.

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Probably be making this on Friday

but...

foodaholic wrote: »

Just finished making this and thumbs up all round, usually make a mushroom risotto so this was a lovely change. Real comfort food. Will post photos later.

is there any chance you'll let me have the recipe for this please, I bought Risotto Rice and porcini mushrooms ages ago but still haven't used them

John Mason

i cant wait to friday to have this, the photos look great - i love risotto

foodaholic

Des I will pm it to you tomorrow

Faith

I made this last night and it was lovely! I've never made risotto before so was a bit nervous, but it was great. Thanks!

Beetlebum

I made this last night and it was amazing. My friend called over and he doesn't like rice but asked could he try some and he loved it.

The only slight changes I made were adding baby spinach and using the milk that I poached the fish in as a stock. I used stock too but added maybe 2 ladelfulls of the 'fish milk' (ha ha that sounds so gross!!).
It was creamy and delicious. I ended up eating the lot which could have fed 2-3 people!

John Mason

well, my boy just made this and its was divine.

he put asparagus in mine instead of the fish

and instead of haddock, he used cod, in his own but we are both nicely full and relaxed :)

photos to follow

thanks dilemma

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Yeah, it was delicious.

Thanks dilemma

Malari

I made this and forgot to comment! But it was lovely. My haddock was unsmoked, which may have resulted in a blander taste, but I'll try it with smoked the next time.

I had previously only tried risotto with mushroom (my fav!) and chicken, which wasn't great. Good way to make fish more interesting.

Little Alex

longshanks wrote: »

i've just finished eating this and good christ was it tasty. way too morish though, ended up eating enough for two. i used smoked coalie instead, the fish people were fresh out of haddock. also added some mushrooms and peas. will definitely be making this again

before

Have you got the same dishes as me?

Anyone

Damn this was tasty. Ate enough for 2! Thanks Dilemma.

Faith

Made it again tonight and it was fantastic! Used smoked coley because they didn't have haddock, used homemade stock, and left out the wine and peas. It really hit the spot!

blueirishangel

Made this today - was YUM!!! So different to anything I've ever made. Used smoked cod and was so so tasty.

Can risotto be reheated? (There was none left but could double up next time!)

Thanks so much.

Altentop

Apparently rice isn't the best food to leave hanging around for too long as it is a very good source for bacterial growth. If you have rice leftovers they should be kept in the fridge and be used within 24 hours at the longest but best to eat it when freshly cooked.

nice1franko

Only got round to making this at the weekend and it was beeeeeyooshifull. Seriously tasty.

My first time making risotto too. Will definitely be making this again and I'll be searching the webs for some other nice risotto recipes - or if anyone has any they could recommend it'd be much appreciated.

Cheers xxdilemmaxx

nice1franko

blueirishangel wrote: »

...
Can risotto be reheated? (There was none left but could double up next time!)

I micro rice all the time for lunches in work and never have any problem.

I had this the next day too and it was lovely but it did dry out a little bit (even though I micro'd it with cling film over the bowl to keep some of the moisture in).

John Mason

how do you mirco it frank (sounds like such a stupid question )

we had this last week and i froze the left overs - it wasnt very nice when i reheated it, it was kind of soggy and a bit greasy

rgiller

OP listed wine in the ingredients but didn't use it in the recipe. I usually pour this in before the first ladel of stock. Just cook off the alcohol for a minute or so and then start with the stock and stirring. Adds a great flavour

nice1franko

irishbird wrote: »

how do you mirco it frank (sounds like such a stupid question )

we had this last week and i froze the left overs - it wasnt very nice when i reheated it, it was kind of soggy and a bit greasy

Ah yeah I've never reheated it from frozen, only from the fridge.

I just nuke it in a bowl with a piece of cling film over the top if possible (the cling film blows up a bit like a balloon if you leave it in for too long but it's ok, trust me!). The steam gets trapped and heats it up quicker and it keeps in more moisture.

If no cling film then just in a plain bowl is alright... not as nice but still grand.

I usually have the rice in a separate bowl to the curry (or whatever) too.

This was the first time I did a risotto but I reckon it's probably one of those things that doesn't nuke very well ... like pasta.

BTW, I find pasta reheats *much* better with the cling film on.

xxdilemmaxx

Oops, must have forgotten to write that bit - that's exactly how I do it too. Thanks!

rgiller wrote: »

OP listed wine in the ingredients but didn't use it in the recipe. I usually pour this in before the first ladel of stock. Just cook off the alcohol for a minute or so and then start with the stock and stirring. Adds a great flavour

boosh_fan

delicious! One of the nicest risottos I've ever tasted and definitely the nicest I've made! Cheers

Little Alex

I love rice based dishes and this is one of my favourite recipes so far in the Cooking Club. I've made it a few times since and again last night.

This time around I added some smoked Spanish paprika to it. Like Beetlebum I also use the milk as the stock - once or twice I also added one of those Knorr Stockpots to the liquid.

Faith

So rather than use stock, you use all milk and stockpots? And no water? Interesting.

Little Alex

Faith wrote: »

So rather than use stock, you use all milk and stockpots? And no water? Interesting.

Well, I used the milk used to poach the fish, but I ended up needing a little more water (boiled from the kettle).

Esox Lucias

Just made this for about the 4th time. Its really damn tasty, everytime I have it I realise i have forgotten how good it is.

I never have white wine or creme fraiche, but I4 use the stock from the fish poaching and some normal cream. Does the job great.

Absolutely fabulous dish.

Cheers OP

Tayla

Had this today, I didn't add the wine, it was lovely.

My almost 2 year old was shoveling it into her mouth with a 'mmmmmm' in between each bite