This is (like Leftover Pie) based on the Fantastic Fish Pie I saw on The Naked Chef.
A friend said that mine (made with meat) sounded better than a fish version. This,
plus the fact that I liked the sauce I made for the Leftover Pie,
prompted me to see if I could get the sauce right for fish. I think I did.
Ingredients:
- One 4-6 ounce fish filet. I used one Gorton's Lemon Pepper Grilled Fillet.
- one or two slices shredded prosciutto ham if you've got it.
- 1/2 cup risotto rice. I used Arborio Rice
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed.
- 1/2 cup finely sliced carrots.
- a few sprigs fresh sweet basil, chopped.
- four spring onions or 1/4 large yellow onion, chopped finely
- 1 good handful grated cheddar (I have big hands and like a lot of cheese - it sorta balances out)
- 1/2 cup milk, half and half, or cream.
- 1-2 tbsp lemon juice.
- salt.
- freshly ground black Pepper.
- Garlic Valley Farms - Cold Pressed Garlic Spray.
Directions:
- Put the fish into the oven (or toaster oven). Cook according to directions.
- Start the risotto cooking in a cup and a half of salted boiling water. Boil for 15 minutes. This is the part where I cheated, since I should have done the risotto in the pan, too. But I didn't have any stock on hand, and I wanted a cheese-sauce, so I just cooked the rice in water. It's not as creamy as if I'd been more traditional, but it'll work if you're in a hurry.
- Fry the onion, garlic, carrots and prosciutto for about five minutes in leftover bacon grease. You want to fry them just until the onions start turning translucent.
- Add the milk or cream to the fried veggies and bring to a boil.
- Remove the mix from the heat, and add the cheese. The cheese should melt pretty quickly, and the sauce will still be a little runny. Don't worry, it'll thicken up as it cools and some of the liquid is absorbed by the rice.
- As soon as the cheese melted, add the lemon juice and basil. You'll want enough lemon to both take the edge off the cheese flavor, but also to work with the fish. Luckily, the fish I used was already lemoned, which made it easier to get right.
- The water should be nearly all absorbed by the risotto at this point. Pour the risotto into the skillet with the vegetables and cheese sauce. Stir. If it's a too soupy, you can either put it back on the heat briefly, or just let it sit covered until it's thickened up nicely.
- When the fish is done cooking (almost the same time as the risotto), break it into 1/2 cm or smaller pieces (it should crumble with a fork) and toss it into the mix.
- Stir thoroughly, adding salt, pepper, and garlic spray to taste.
Note that you can do most of your chopping after starting the fish and risotto cooking. They each take almost 20 minutes (counting the time to get the water boiling), and you don't need to fry things very long, and even being slow with a knife, I got everything chopped in about 5 minutes.
Serves: 2 servings
Preparation & cooking time: 20 minutes