Salmon Risotto
Any Italian will tell you risotto has to be made with soul! You can simply cook rice and turn it into a mix of ingredients. Or you can take a more thoughtful approach, put knowledge and skill into the dish, and get a masterpiece you’ll want to make again and again, like seafood risotto.
As it happens, risotto or pasta, especially pasta with salmon, has become our favorite breakfast, given how little time these dishes take.
As a rule, the only difficulty is getting the right rice. But lately Arborio has stopped being exotic, although it costs more than the faceless grain labeled simply “Rice”.
One of the simplest risottos is salmon risotto, or one made with any fish with red flesh. All you need is rice and one steak or tail piece of fish. The technique – fry the rice, add hot broth little by little and take it off the heat in time – I described in detail in the recipe for vegetable risotto. Sardine risotto also turns out well with fish.
Salmon risotto. Atlantic salmon, trout, any fish with red flesh will do. A little Parmesan makes the risotto very tender, and the herbs make it fragrant.
Ingredients
2 servings
- For the risotto
- Arborio rice 1 cup
(180 g) - Salmon (trout, Atlantic salmon) 1 steak or tail piece
- Herbs (basil, parsley) to taste
- Parmesan 2 tbsp
(14 g) - Olive oil 3 tbsp
- Garlic 2 cloves
- Salt, black pepper to taste
- For the broth
- Fish leftovers (bones, skin, fins) from the steak or tail piece
- Cold water 1 l
- Carrot, root vegetables, onion (optional) a small piece of each
Step-by-step recipe
The fish and the broth
Almost any fish with “red”, fatty flesh works for salmon risotto. Norwegian salmon is ideal. In the store such a fish rarely weighs less than 2 kg, but you can always buy a steak cut crosswise, weighing 200–250 g. A tail piece works great too.
Scale the fish and cut off all the flesh, removing the skin and all the small bones.
Cut the fish into small pieces.
Put the fish leftovers (bones, skin, fins) into a small pot and cover with 1 l of cold water. If you like, add a piece of carrot, root vegetables and an onion.
Cook the broth and strain it. Put the clear broth in the pot over low heat and use it to make the salmon risotto.
Frying the fish and the rice
Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan and flavor it by frying crushed garlic cloves. When the garlic starts to darken, throw it away.
Fry the cut-up fish in the olive oil until done and lightly browned. It takes just a few minutes.
Transfer the fried fish to a separate plate.
Add Italian Arborio or Carnaroli rice to the remaining oil, both are easy to find in stores. Fry for 3–4 mins, stirring. The grains should be coated with a film of oil and start turning pearly translucent.
Cooking the risotto
Add half a cup of fish broth (100 ml) and stir. Simmer over low heat until the rice absorbs all the liquid.
Add the broth to the salmon risotto in portions. Add each next portion only after the previous one has been absorbed.
When the rice is almost done, add the pieces of fish. Simmer the salmon risotto with the herbs for 3–4 mins, stirring constantly.
Add a little more broth so the risotto is closer in consistency to rice porridge.
When the salmon risotto is ready, sprinkle it with finely grated Parmesan and stir. Leave 1 tsp of Parmesan (2 g) to sprinkle over the risotto when serving.
Divide the risotto among plates.
Before serving, sprinkle the risotto with a little Parmesan and chopped herbs. Many people like to add more pepper, but that’s a matter of taste.
Calories and macros
755 kcal
Serving ≈ 740 g
- Protein29 g16% of kcal
- Fat36 g45% of kcal
- Carbs73 g40% of kcal
100 g102 kcalProtein 4 gFat 4.9 gCarbs 9.9 g
Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.
To Get It Right
Garlic is only for flavor
The crushed cloves are fried in the oil and thrown away as soon as they start to darken. What’s left is an aromatic oil for frying both the fish and the rice.
Fry the rice first
Before the first portion of broth, the rice is fried for 3–4 minutes in the oil the fish was fried in: the grains should be coated with a film of oil and turn pearly translucent.
Hot broth, in portions
Keep the broth hot on low heat nearby and add it a little at a time: the next portion only when the rice has absorbed the previous one. The finished risotto is closer in consistency to rice porridge.
White wine and butter
You can splash a little white wine into the rice before the broth, and add a piece of butter at the end.
Have your own trick for this recipe?
Fish scaler with lidAliExpress
Fish bone tweezersAliExpress
Pull chopper for garlic and onionAliExpress
Oil sprayerAliExpress
Kitchen scale up to 5 kgAliExpress
Vegetable chopper with handleAliExpressQuestions and answers
What rice do you need for salmon risotto?
Italian Arborio or Carnaroli – they’re available in stores, though pricier than ordinary rice. The right rice is essentially the only difficulty of this risotto.
Can you make risotto with trout?
Yes. Trout, Atlantic salmon, salmon – practically any fish with “red”, fatty flesh will do. For 2 servings, one steak weighing 200–250 g or a tail piece is enough.
Do you need onion in salmon risotto?
Not necessarily: almost half of Italian risotto recipes don’t include onion. If you like, you can put an onion into the fish broth.
How do you make salmon risotto in a creamy sauce?
At the end, together with the Parmesan, add a little cream or, for extra luxury, a spoonful of mascarpone. But even without cream the risotto turns out tender, thanks to the Parmesan.
How long does salmon risotto take to cook?
About 30 minutes at the stove, plus 15 minutes to prepare the fish and the broth. The rice is fried for 3–4 minutes, and then the broth is added in portions until the rice is almost done.
When do you add the fish to risotto?
When the rice is almost done. The fish is fried separately beforehand until done, and simmered in the risotto for just 3–4 minutes, stirring constantly.