Risotto with Salmon

I had a choice between a no-stir risotto recipe, and the traditional risotto that takes a lot of stirring. I chose to cook risotto instead of going to the gym, I decided to just suck it up and stir... well sort of.

I recently ordered arborio rice from Amazon. It was screaming risotto! Actually it was written on the label.

I got 4 of these!!

The bottom half of a leek cooking in 1/2 canola oil and 1/2 olive oil. Canola oil because it heats up more, and olive oil for the taste.

Super important step... sauteeing the rice dry in the oil until the rice is a little translucent. After that, you throw in some white wine, and let the rice soak it up and release some sticky gluten. This will insure the nice al dente texture that risotto has, which your normal cooked rice does not.

Lots of starchy diced potatoes! At this point, you can add whatever you want. potatoes take a while to cook, so I added it early.

Enough mushroom stock and boiling water was added so that I could stir easily.

Here's where I cheated. The no stir risotto requires you to completely cover everything in liquid and then simmer for 20 minutes. The regular risotto requires you to keep adding stock 1 cup at a time and then stir until your arm falls off. I barely covered the risotto and simmered for 10 minutes the first time so that the potatoes and rice cooked.

Every 10 minutes, I added another cup of water+stock, and I simmered and watched tv. This way, the rice absorbed the liquid slowly and the grains stayed separate, but I didn't have to stir for as long.

I lightly seasoned the salmon with salt and pepper, put it on some olive oil, and threw it in the oven at 350 degrees for 5 minutes.

I then broiled it for 5 minutes until the skin puffed up nicely and browned.

Some ponzu would be perfect for the salmon and risotto. I thought little something sour would make a good pairing for the creamy rice.

Once the rice was done, I mixed in 1/4 to 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan cheese and let it sit for 5 minutes. I separated the fish flakes a little so the ponzu drizzled on top sank into the folds. Dinner is served!