Fennel risotto with prawns and smoked salmon

Fennel risotto

What is it with people and fennel? I think it is one of those vegetables that you either love or hate. It has a very distinct flavour ofcourse so if you do not like anis you will probably not like fennel, but I happen to love it. In moderation that is, as I do think it’s definitely a vegetable that does not go together with everything!

For dinner tonight I made this lovely fennel risotto with prawns and smoked salmon on top. It was light and very delicious. And filling too (which is important if you’re on a diet or you’ll be forever hungry…:) )

That striped thing in the background of the photo above is our gardenchair as it has been hot today and we have been eating outside. Unfortunately we have a garden that is facing North-East so in the evening there is no sunshine in the garden. Having said that I am mostly happy with the way our garden is positioned. A south facing garden is fantastic in spring and in the evening, but during the day it’s impossibly hot. We do have sunshine the entire day but there is always a spot where you can find some shade during the day. It’s just the evening part that is a bit annoying at times, especially when you want to throw a barbecue. Evenings can be chilly and not having sunshine after 6 pm means it will be cooler sooner. Anyway, we can’t have it all!

Garden

Our garden is very green and usually filled with birds, but because it is so green it also looks like a complete jungle every once in a while, so last week it was major “chopping up the garden-day”. After removing loads of bushes this was the end result. Still not finished, but it’s looking a little less like a jungle. As you can see it’s a very small garden…!

The overhanging bit on the left we could not remove as there are birds nesting there right now and I did not want to disturb the young and happy family. I was a little worried that due to the hacking during the day they would be too stressed but all is well with the family. I can see the nest if I look under the greenery and mother and father are constantly supplying fresh worms to the ever hungry youngsters… They will probably be flying out soon, so better keep the cats in check! (not that they are interested….. Simply too old to run after little bird!)

Here is the recipe for the fennel risotto!

250 gr risotto (arborio) rice

6-7 ml vegetable stock

2 fennel bulbs

fresh dille

200 gr shrimps

100 gr smoked salmon

1 shallot

olive oil

Cut the shallot into small pieces, remove the fingers from the fennel, remove the stalky bit at the bottom and cut into fine pieces.

In a large frying pan, add oliveoil and fry the onions untill just tender. Add the rice and stir untill the grains are covered in oil.

Add some of the stock and the fennel. While stirring occasionally keep adding stock as soon as the pan starts getting dry. The total process will be around 20 minutes but check regularly to see if the risotto is ok. It should be moist!

Add the dille and half of the shrimps once the rice is done and warm through a little bit. Add the remaining shrimps and the smoked salmon as garnish on top once done.

Delicious and simple meal!