Smoked Fish Risotto

This is dish just delicious, and a little smoked fish goes a long way. A punchy little risotto that I'm happy to eat, and I'm not the biggest risotto fan in the world. You can use any smoked fish in this dish. I used smoked hoki, a touch over-done so it was a little more firm and held together in nicer chunks. The smokiness of the fish, the earthiness of the mushroom, the creaminess of the risotto all needed to be cut with something. I opted for capers, minced and sprinkled. Tasty little buggers that give dimension to any fish dish. Enough pontificating. Let's get on with it. Here, is a picture of the meal:

And here is how to do it....

Ingredients

400g Aborio Rice (or medium/short grain rice will also be adequate)

2 litres of vegetable stock

4 White Onions, finely sliced

5 Cloves of Garlic

2 Tbsp cream cheese

1 Tbsp dried dill

1 Tsp dried oregano

400g hot smoked fish

300g Spinach, roughly chopped

4 Portabello mushrooms

A handful of long beans, sliced lengthways.

Capers

Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

Method

In a stock pot, add a lug of olive oil. In that olive oil on a medium heat, saute the onions, garlic and oregano until soft. Once soft, add rice, and a bit more oil. Toast the rice - make sure you keep it moving or it'll stick like crazy. Lower the heat.

In a separate pot, have the two litres of vegetable stock on a low heat, gently warming.

Add the dill, flake the fish, and then add the spinach. Stir through.

One ladleful at a time, add the stock. You're aiming to gently infuse the stock. So when it starts to look a bit dry, add another round of stock. Reapeat. Keep stirring - it ensures a creamy risotto in the end, not lumpy.

Heat up the oven to 200 C. On a baking tray, put your mushrooms. Oil them with a brush. Knife mince some capers, sprinkle over top with a quick grind of salt. Let them rest: we'll be putting them in the oven for the final seven minutes of cooking.

Try the rice- when it's on the cusp of being tender, put the mushrooms in the oven, and the beans in the risotto.

Add cream cheese to the risotto. This will make everything more opaque, more creamy. Keep the risotto process going until the rice is tender. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve however you feel with the mushroom on top. Sprinkle with more capers, because capers are awesome.

Enjoy!