smoked salmon risotto with lemon and mascarpone

  

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 cup dry white wine
4 cups vegetable stock
2 cups smoked salmon, divided
1/2 cup mascarpone
3 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
handful arugula (baby greens are best)
lemon juice
ground pepper

Reserving some large pieces of salmon to garnish, roughly chop the remaining smoked salmon and set aside.

In a large pot over medium high heat, add the olive oil and onion. Sauté for five minutes until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the rice and garlic to the pot and cook for two more minutes, stirring continuously. Add the white wine and a cup of the stock to the pot. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Simmer, stirring frequently until the most of the liquid has been absorbed. Add another cup of the stock and continue to cook, stirring constantly until it too has absorbed. Repeat, until you've used all the stock and the rice is tender and creamy.

Remove the pot from the heat, add the mascarpone and stir until melted. Add the chopped salmon, parsley and lemon zest and mix. Season with fresh ground pepper and lemon juice to taste.

Plate the risotto with a some fresh arugula and the pieces of reserved salmon.

enjoy.

coconut bread and salted honey brown butter spread

 

(New York Times Recipe)

2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 to 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup granulated sugar
5 ounces sweetened flaked coconut (about 1 1/2 cups)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted or melted and browned, if desired

Vegetable oil or nonstick cooking spray for baking pan
Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and vanilla.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. Add sugar and coconut, and stir to mix. Make a well in the center, and pour in egg mixture, then stir wet and dry ingredients together until just combined. Add butter, and stir until just smooth — be careful not to overmix.

Butter and flour a 9×5-inch loaf pan, or coat it with a nonstick spray. This loaf, once baked, entirely filled and towered above my 9x5x3 (8-cup) loaf pan, so if yours is smaller, you might want to pour off a little batter into greased muffin tins. Spread batter in pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, anywhere from 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Cool in pan five minutes, before turning out onto a cooling rack.
Serve in thick slices, toasted, with butter and confectioners’ sugar or salted honey brown butter spread.

Salted honey brown butter spread

1 stick unsalted butter, divided
1 to 2 tablespoons honey (use less for lightly sweet, more for a more traditional honey butter)
Few pinches flaky sea salt

In a small saucepan, melt half your butter over medium heat. Once melted, reduce heat to medium-low. The butter will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. While it is cooling, leave the other half of the butter out to soften slightly (semi-firm is fine).
Whip softened butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Slowly drizzle in the room temperature browned butter, honey and salt continue whipping until combined. Chill butter in fridge until a nice spreadable consistency, or until needed.

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Moroccan Spice Chick Peas and Spinach

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 small red chili, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons Moroccan Spice (see below)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup tomato paste
2 cups spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
juice of half a lemon
handful of coriander leaves to garnish

Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Cook onion, garlic and chili for about 5 minutes until soft. Add Moroccan spice. Mix well.

Add tomato paste. Cook for a minute. Add the spinach and chickpeas. Cook, stirring occasionally until spinach has wilted (about 3 to 4 minutes). Remove from heat.

Stir in the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with coriander. Serve hot with Turkish bread and a dollop of yoghurt.

Moroccan Spice (Makes approximately 10 tablespoons)

5 tablespoons ground cumin
5 tablespoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon allspice
1 tablespoon ground paprika
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

Combine all ingredients in a dry bowl. Mix well. Store in air tight container with your spices for a month or two. 

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