Pan-Fried Snapper
with Herby Lemon & Fennel Risotto
Living near the beach my whole life has meant I have always been super into mostly lazing on the beach and swimming. But it also has given me a passion for fishing. There is nothing like a beautiful calm day on the water, sun shining, away from my phone (obvs apart from capturing a winning shot) and away from the noise of the city. It’s almost like a form of meditation. Equally it’s just as good to come home, have a frosty beverage and cook a mean dinner! Often, on the water once there is a fish in the bin I’ll start planning what’s for dinner and more often than not its risotto! Only advice here would be to use a good quality stock. Its the bones of your risotto so the better the quality the better the flavour! Or even better, make your own. This risotto calls for sour cream at the end which I’m sure a lot of Italian Nonnas and probably a few old bosses would scold me for but it’s SO yum!
Ingredients
(serves 4)
1.5 lt chicken, veggie or fish liquid stock
800g snapper, skinned and boned
1 onion, finely diced
1 bulb fennel, finely diced
A good drizzle of olive oil
1 cup Arborio or Carnaroli rice
1/2 cup white wine
2 courgette, grated
3 Tbsp sour cream (not usual in a risotto but helps in place of Parmesan cheese!)
Juice of 1/4-1/2 lemon, I suggest adding this to taste
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped plus more to serve
1/2 cup fresh dill, roughly chopped plus more to serve
2 Tbsp butter for fish frying
Prep It
Place your stock whichever kind you are using in a large pot and bring to the boil. As soon as it boils remove from heat, pop a ladle in the pot for later and keep warm. There may be a little more stock than you need for this but its better to have a bit too much than not enough.
Pat fish dry and cut into even size pieces. Pieces that are easy to manage in the pan is good. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Finely dice onion and fennel and set both aside.
Grate courgette and roughly chop herbs. Pick more herbs for serving.
Cook It
Heat a good drizzle of oil in a large deep fry-pan or pot on medium heat. Add onion, fennel and a pinch of salt and cook for 3-4 minutes, until soft. Add rice and stir to coat the grains in the oil. Add white wine and cook for about 2 minutes, until wine has fully evaporated. Start adding your hot stock about 1 ladle full at a time and cook, stirring often only adding more stock once the previous addition has absorbed. It’s important to stir often as this helps the rice release its starch, resulting in a thick and creamy risotto. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until rice grains are just tender. They should have a little bite to them but not get stuck in your teeth. When cooked stir through courgette, lemon juice and sour cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Your risotto should be the consistency of porridge and spread out when it hits your plate.
Fry It
When your risotto has about 6 minutes remaining start your fish. Heat a good drizzle of oil in a large fry-pan on medium-high heat. Once the pan is almost smoking add fish flesh side down first and cook for 2-3 minutes, until golden brown. You should start to see the fish turn white up the sides. Add butter to pan, swirl, flip the fish and turn off the heat. Leave the fish in the pan for about 2 minutes. The residual heat from the pan will just cook the fish nicely. This method works well for snapper fillets that are about 2cm thick. If its fatter than this you may have to keep the pan on the heat for a minute or 2 longer.
Eat It!
Serve risotto topped with fish. Spoon over butter from the pan because yum! and drizzle with a good quality olive oil. If your like me you will want a little sprinkle of flaky salt too. Sprinkle over basil and dill and you are GOOD TO GO MATE!