Asparagus, smoked salmon, lemon and chilli risotto

 

Asparagus is one of the many vegetables I loathed as a child.  I hated the smell.  It doesn't help that it usually came from a can as spears and sometimes as cream of asparagus soup.  You know the brand.  Maybe it was the fact that there was rarely fresh asparagus available where I grew up, or simply because it's another "green" vegetable like brocolli. 

Well, somehow I outgrew that hate.  And these days, when they're available at my local fruit and veg shop or at the markets, they go straight into my market basket.  They're so versatile and so easy to cook. 

As part of the #huonsalmon challenge, I prepared this dish for a Taste of Harmony celebration at work.  We were to bring a dish (or ingredient) that starts with the first letter of our name.  And I chose A for Asparagus.

Ingredients

3 tablespoon light olive oil

 

1 garlic, finely diced

1 medium onion, finely diced

2 cups arborio rice

200 ml white wine

400 ml vegetable or fish stock (or water) 

250 grams Huon Reserve Selection Blacked Spice Hot Smoked Salmon, shredded 

rind of 1 lemon

400 grams asparagus spears, cut into 1.5 cm

2-3 chillies, chopped

1 cup grated parmesan



Method

In a heavy skillet or enameled cast iron pan, heat the olive oil.

Add the garlic and onions and stir until soft.

Add the arborio rice, and stir to coat the rice.

Add the white wine, stirring and let it simmer for a minute until the sauce is reduced.

Turn the heat to a low simmer, add a cup of stock/water and put lid on and let the rice simmer.

Check after 2-3 minutes and if the sauce is reduced, add more stock/water and let it simmer until rice is almost cooked. (if the rice is getting dry, keep adding half a cup of extra stock or water.  Don't let the rice get dried up and burn the bottom of the pan.)

Add the salmon and asparagus, rind of lemon and the chillis. Stir to balance the ingredients evenly in the pan. 

Add 2/3 of the grated parmesan and stir to coat.

Turn off heat and cover.  Let the risotto sit for awhile before serving.

Serve with extra parmesan on top.

This risotto is something I dish up at home on a weekday, using any ingredient on hand (canned tuna sometimes, or just plain vegetables like mushrooms). But this time, it is with the Huon Reserve Selection Blacked Spice Hot Smoked Salmon.  I love the naturally smoked flavour and the combination of native Australian spices.  And it went well at our office Taste of Harmony lunch.  It also helps that it's a simple dish to whip up during Lent.

Disclaimer: The writer (adobo down under) was invited to take part in the #huonsalmon blogging challenge and Huon Aquaculture has provided the products mentioned in this recipe.

Gambas al Ajillo

 

Ok.  So today I decided to brag about this dish.  Er. I mean blog about this recipe.  This was only after I realised this dish is not yet in my blog archives.  How can that be?  It's one of my all-time favourite dishes way back when - as an appetizer usually when out drinking with mates.  Back in the day.  And yes, at home too as a main dish.  Its a simple dish without the need for a recipe, really.  Just the basics of olive oil, garlic, chillies, parsley and good ol' salt and pepper.  Its actually one of those dishes which you can re-create on your own just by tasting the dish.  You know those times when you eat something at a restaurant that looks easy enough and you try to replicate it at home.  Well, this is like one of those.  Actually just look at the picture and you will already know what to do.

  

Gambas al Ajillo is a Spanish dish which originates from the South of Spain and it is really a tapas dish - an entree or appetizer.  A long time ago, when I took a short Spanish cooking class at the Sydney Seafood School, this was one of the tapas dishes we prepared.  Intentionally, I enrolled to learn the basics of paella.  And it was a bonus to learn two other tapas dishes  - this one included.  An easy Spanish tapas dish which is already a hit every single time.   When I organised the Taste of Harmony lunch at work and asked everyone to bring a dish from a country they want to visit, I initially thought of making Tres Leches Cake because one of my dream is to visit South America and trek the Machu Picchu. But I also would love visit Spain and making this was easy enough on a weekday morning. 

To make Gambas al Ajillo

500g prawns - washed, peeled and deveined

3 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped finely

2 birds eye chillies, chopped finely

1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped

3 tablespoons light olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Heat olive oil in a skillet or pan.

Add the garlic and cook until soft but not brown.  

(Do not burn as your dish will taste bitter)

Add the prawns and stir until cooked through.

Add the chopped chillies and stir.

Season with salt and pepper.

Top with the chopped parsley.

Serve with toasted crusty bread.

Taste of Harmony lunch feast at the Office

I'm grateful that I work in small organisation and coercing everyone to bring a dish with a theme was too easy.  Everyone had a good lunch celebrating with lots of food and stories to share.

 * Taste of Harmony is an initiative by the Scanlon Foundation whose vision is to enhance social cohesion in Australia.  TOH is an annual event which encourages workplace colleagues to share food and stories from different cultural backgrounds.