Basil risotto with smoked ricotta, sea bream, lemon and almonds

A vibrant green basil risotto, topped with creamy smoked ricotta, lemon and almonds. All sits on top of a sea bream carpaccio for a refined homemade main course.

Risotto has always been my safe-heaven, so versatile and actually pretty cheap. You know that you can make about 7/8 portions out of a 500gr pack of Arborio rice depending on the recipe?

Chef’s tips: I like my sea bream to be just about cooked but if you worry about raw fish make sure to heat up the plate with the thinly sliced fish before plating the risotto. It will cook in a matter of 2 minutes tops. Alternatively, chop the sea bream and simply add it to the risotto in the last 2 minutes of cooking time.

Serves: 4 pp // Timing: 90 minutes

Ingredients 

• 360g Riso Gallo Arborio

• 1 medium sea bream or 2 fillets

• 60 gr basil

• 1 lemon

• 250 gr of ricotta

• 1 onion

• 20 gr of butter

• 50 ml of white wine

• 40 gr of grated Grana Padano

• 120 ml of olive oil

• 20 gr of almonds

• Salt and pepper (to taste)

Preparation

Firstly, smoke the ricotta.

To smoke the ricotta give yourself a day. The process is actually pretty easy but 1 night in the fridge after you have smoked it will get rid of the excessively strong smell. Pat dry the ricotta and place it into a deep baking tray. Season with salt and pepper and set on fire a bay leaf of rosemary sprig next to the ricotta then quickly turn it off and cover the tray with aluminium foil. Keep it cover for 30 minutes than open and let it breath overnight.

Now the basil sauce. This is pretty similar to a pesto but with blanched leaves.

Blanch the basil in boiling water for 15 seconds than cool in iced water quickly to retain the colour. Drain and place into a blender. Add the grated cheese, 50 ml of oil, salt and pepper and a tiny splash of water to loosen it up and start to blend. If this gets to watery by mistake it is not a big issue and you can incorporate part of the almonds too as the 20 gr are not all needed to top the risotto. Keep aside.

Blanch also the almonds for 2 minutes then drain and peel immediately. Chop them into flakes and keep aside.

For the fish, carve the fillets out with care and remove the skin. Use the bone to make a quick fish stock along with the onion trimmings, the lemon edges and any veg and herbs trimmings you might have around. The water should just cover the fish. Season with rock salt lightly and let it simmer for 30 minutes on low heat.

Pin boned and rinse from any scale left the sea bream fillets, pat dry and slice into thin carpaccio slices. Oil the plates with a little drop of olive oi than place the slices equally in the centre. Now season lightly, and add another drop of oil and a little lemon zest. Keep them on the side.

For the risotto.

Gently sweat the chopped onion in a small pot with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt. Cook for about 10 minutes on low heat until golden and caramelized.

In a larger casserole toast the arborio rice on low heat with a pinch of salt for about 4 minutes without any oil. This step is important to obtain a uniform al dente rice. Keep stirring the rice, so the rice does not catch on the bottom of the pan or burn. When the rice is very hot, pour the wine in. Let the alcohol evaporate, set the cooking time to 16 minutes and add the simmering stock a ladle at a time, little by little. Stir the rice occasionally, and make sure the rice is always covered with stock. Add the cooked onion in and keep cooking and do not stir with too much energy as it could break the rice grains.

When just 1 or 2 minutes are left, add the basil sauce and finish to cook. The longer you cook the basil, the higher the chances of discolour are. When the time is up, taste the risotto, if you’re happy with the texture remove it from the heat, if you want the rice a little bit softer, cook for another minute.

 This step is called “mantecatura” to make the risotto creamier increasing its natural ooziness with the right gesture and movements. Add just the butter and the olive oil left to the rice. Stir to incorporate extra air until the risotto is nice and creamy. Season to taste.

Before plating, warm up the plates in the oven for 1 to 2 minutes at 150 degrees so that the fish gets to the right temperature. Plate the hot risotto straight away on top of the fish and top with a nice quenelle of smoked ricotta, lemon zest, almonds flakes and a few basil leaves.

Enjoy it.