Smoked Salmon Risotto

After our 3 very beautiful weddings, we headed back to Perth and returned to our work positions (in wedded bliss of course). And so my husband asked oh so very nicely if I could cook him something that I don't do often...

On our plane ride back to Perth, he was reminiscing taking the first bite of the White Wine Creamy Salmon Pasta that I used to cooked for my housemates. To be real honest, I was actually quite surprised that he remembered that dish as we were not even dating then. Apparently it was the amount of button mushrooms that I put in there that caught him attention (Doh!).



Although I could have cooked up the same dish again, I thought that I could try going out of my comfort zone and try making a risotto again. After all, that was what we had on our first day.... 4 years after we met.

So I entered the kitchen, put on the apron and cooked my first meal as a wife....


Smoked Salmon Risotto (Serves 2)
150 grams of smoked salmon
3 cups of button mushrooms sliced
6 cups of hot stock
1 cup of aborio rice
1 cup of peas
1 cup of Amberly's Chenin Blanc
1 tablespoon of garlic
squeeze of lemon juice
Parmesan cheese

Heat stock till boiling hot and keep it simmering. Heat a deep pan with some olive oil and add some garlic.. stir in the rice. Slowly ladle in stock.. one ladle by ladle.. and keep stirring. After your fourth ladle, add in the cup of wine. Continue to stir! Dont leave the pot....
Stir in some peas and then finally tear the smoked salmon and stir it in. Season to taste. Serve with parmesan cheese.

Sharing this with the good friends at Presto Pasta founded by Ruth from Once Upon a Feast. This week, Presto pasta is hosted by Katerina from Daily Unadventures.

Chorizo and Mushroom Risotto

This was my first time experimenting with chorizo and I'm glad I finally did. We had chorizos before at tapas or starters but I have always wondered how it tasted in a dish like risotto.

I rarely have the patience to cook a risotto. Warming the stock and stirring the rice regularly just seems too much work to me. That might explain why my previous attempt looked and tasted on the dry side. So one fine Saturday evening, I decided to take some time out and enjoy the cooking process of this dish.

The spicy flavor of the chorizo certainly gave the risotto its flavour. I love my mushrooms and think it provided an earthly touch to this dish. The corn added some sweetness as well. This is also the first time that I managed a risotto without it looking too 1)dry or 2)wet. I suppose we do need patience in the kitchen afterall....



Chorizo and Mushroom Risotto (serves 2)
100 grams of chorizo sausages sliced thinnly
1 tsp of garlic chopped
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
1 cup of corn kennels
1 cup of arborio rice
4-5 cups of stock warmed

1) Place chorizo sausage slices on a cold pan. Turn the heat to medium and let it slowly cook. Remove chorizo slices. Set aside.

2) You can use the oil in the pain but I drained most of mine. Add arboria rice and fry gently with some garlic. That will take around 3 minutes. Add a ladle of warm stock and stir.

3) Continue to add a ladle of stock and stir till the rice absorb the stock. Cook till the rice turns slightly soft.

4). Add mushrooms and corn. Cook for 5 minutes.

5) Stir in chorizo. Season. Serve with parmesan cheese and cracked pepper.