Monday 19 March 2012

Smoked Mackerel Risotto

I'd actually forgotten how good this recipe is, and so simple too, plus to my amazement, both girls ate it! Result.

Ingredients
1 onion chopped
1 clove of garlic chopped
250g risotto rice
Glass of White wine
Chicken stock
250g smoked mackerel- the peppered one works a treat in this.
Big handful of frozen peas
100g creme fraiche

Gently fry the onion and garlic for a couple of minutes, then add the rice and the wine. Once the wine has been absorbed then start adding the chicken stock bit by bit. I know you're supposed to stand and stir risottos continuously to make them creamy, but you're adding the creme fraiche at the end that does the job for you.
Once the rice starts looking like it's getting near done- about fifteen minutes in, chuck in your peas. Then once the rice is cooked, flake in the mackerel and stir in the creme fraiche. And that's it, all done.
Sorry there's no photos, but it just kind of looks like a risotto!

The Simple Things

I hope all the mothers out there had a lovely mothers day. Posts from my friends on Facebook suggested so. I heard tales of breakfast in bed and being waited on hand and foot. For the second year in a row (I'm beginning to see a pattern here) Mr B was struck down by a bout of man flu, which we are all still suffering with and so my day was very much the same as usual. Trip to the supermarket with the girls, cook Sunday lunch which no one but me actually ate and then a walk around the garden centre to stop the girls from bouncing off the walls! So for me, Mothers day was exactly that, me being a mother as I usually am.

But it did have its advantages. I got given some money by the ailing husband to buy my own mothers day present. So there is a new cook book gracing my already over stocked shelves. And I treated myself to a new teacup. It doesn't matter that I don't drink tea. Its lovely and elegant and you have to raise your little finger when drinking from it.

I was at a farmers market on Saturday. I love farmers markets. When I lived in Kent I (before children and with a disposable income), I used to base my weekly food shop around the fantastic markets nearby. To be fair, I haven't found one to quite equal those, but this one came pretty close. beautiful pies, local ales, fresh produce, eggs, meat, fish, coffee.. the list goes on. I  does make you realise just how much stuff is on your doorstep. Its kind of easy to forget in a life where convenience is everything, that there is something beyond Tescos.
Mr B bought some turkey eggs there, something I'd never seen on sale before.

A quick squizz on the Internet tells me that they're great for baking. It also tells me that Waitrose sells them £1.99 for two. We paid £1.50 for half a dozen. And don't get me started on the Venison, chocolate and juniper pies. Lush. Fulmodeston Farmers market, for those of you local and in anyway interested is the third Saturday of every month. Can't pronounce it properly, but I intend to have a stand there most months.
I'm off now. Need to put some smoked mackerel into my risotto and I'm sure it doesn't need saying that fishy fingers and a laptop are not a good pairing!