smoked haddock risotto with cavolo nero

…earlier this month I spent the day in Grimsby visiting one of the UK’s last remaining traditional smokehouses, Russell’s.  I met with third generation fish smoker Dave Tummey who had worked at the smokehouse since he was 13 years old… his passion for the product and the process was clearly evident in the beautiful fish that came out of the ancient chimney’s and I feel privalidged to have met him and to have been given access into this world… the smoked fish is so good that Tesco use it as part of their Finest range and clearly they were also moved by the experience as they have created a beautiful advert  all about Russell’s so you can also get a peek into the life of a Grimsby fish smoker!

easily serves 4 as a lunch or 2 as a supper
2 fillets of smoked haddock
200ml milk
1 teaspoon good quality stock powder
1 onion – finely chopped
1 300g packet black dog delicatessen tomato risotto
1 glass of white wine
1 bunch of cavolo nero cabbage leaves

cut the cavolo nero into bite-size portions and steam it until just tender – set aside to cool

place the haddock fillets into a large saucepan, cover with milk, sprinkle with the stock powder and let it simmer gently for 5 minutes.  Drain the milk but keep it for using in the risotto.  Set the fish aside to cool.

in the same pan (now empty) heat some butter and olive oil and gently saute the onions till soft and translucent then throw in the rice and shimmy it around a bit, then pour in the wine and let it reduce whilst you stir the rice

slowly add the fish-milk, ladle-full at a time, stirring between each addition until the milk is absorbed by the rice before adding the next ladle… keep going until all the milk is used up and the rice is tender and creamy – you may need to have a little more plain veg stock ready just in case you don’t have enough milk

gently crumble the fish into the risotto being careful not to flake it too small, then add the cabbage and mix it together before serving.

a full review of my day at the smokehouse will appear in the November edition of Lincolnshire Life Magazine and an edited version will appear here on the blog in November

eat and of course, enjoy!