The 21st Century Housewife's Lemon Shrimp Risotto

As it is Friday, I thought I would post a fish recipe. This one is easy enough for a weeknight, but special enough for a dinner party - just the kind of recipe I like! 

Risotto has a reputation for being tricky to prepare, but it is very undeserved. Although risotto is a very hands-on dish, it isn’t difficult and only takes about a half hour in total to make. It is lovely with fresh vegetables from the garden or market in the summer, and in the depths of winter you can always use frozen green vegetables in it. I use thawed cooked shrimp in this recipe - they can be big ones or little ones - both are delicious!

The quantities below serve 3 to 4 people as a main course.

1 tablespoon butter

1 onion, finely chopped

1 cup risotto rice

1 glass of white wine (optional)

(Please don’t use ‘cooking wine’ - better to leave it out - only wine you’d want to drink from a glass.)

4 to 5 cups chicken stock

the juice of half a lemon

2 cups green vegetables cut in bite size pieces (green beans, asparagus, peas, whatever you have to hand)

2 cups frozen cooked shrimp, thawed

(please buy line caught, sustainably fished seafood)

2 to 3 tablespoons light cream of half and half

In a large saucepan, melt the butter of medium heat. Add the risotto rice and stir to coat with the butter. Cook for a minute or two, but don’t allow the rice to brown. Stir in the glass of white wine, if using, and continue to stir until it has been absorbed by the rice. Then gradually add the stock (if you don’t use the wine you may need a bit more stock), stirring until it is absorbed after each addition.

Just before the last addition of stock, toss in the green vegetables so that they can be cooked to tender crisp with the risotto. When the stock is all absorbed and the rice is al dente, stir in the shrimp and the lemon juice. Heat through, and then stir in the cream or half and half.

Serve in warmed bowls with a basket of hot rolls or crusty bread for folks to help themselves to on the side. 

The 21st Century Housewife's Haddock with Guacamole Rice

This recipe was born out of desire to use up leftover guacamole, and although I wasn’t sure about it when I set out to make it, the first taste convinced me this had been a very, very good idea indeed.

You can use homemade guacamole or store bought, it really doesn’t matter, and the recipe would work well with any firm white fish. I can’t help but think it might be nice with salmon too.

The quantities here are for two, but the recipe is easily doubled. I’ve included a little variation at the end as well.

2 haddock fillets, skinless and boneless if possible

about 2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon chopped chives

1 cup uncooked rice

2 to 3 teaspoons mild olive oil or other light oil

2 cups of uncooked green vegetables (I used asparagus and green beans but zucchini or peas would also be nice)

salt and pepper to taste

¼ to ½ cup guacamole

Cut two large pieces of aluminum foil and place each haddock fillet in the centre of one of them. Put about 1 teaspoon of the butter on top of each fillet, wrap up in the foil and place on a baking sheet. Cook in the oven at 375 for about 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets. The fish is done when it flakes easily with a fork.

Meanwhile, cook the rice in boiling salted water according to package directions.

While the rice is cooking, heat the oil in a frying pan and stir fry your green vegetables for a few minutes, just until tender.

When the rice is cooked, drain it well and return it to the pan. Add the stir fried vegetables and stir through the guacamole. Place over very low heat just to warm everything through, stirring constantly.

Melt the remaining butter and add the chives to it.

Divide the rice between two plates and put one haddock fillet on top of each. Drizzle a little of the chive butter over each fillet and serve.

Variation: If you like tomatoes, slice some cherry tomatoes in half and warm gently with the green vegetables for just a few minutes. The dish then looks like this:

The 21st Century Housewife’s© Cod with White Wine and Shrimp Sauce

The beauty of this dish is that it uses frozen white fish fillets and frozen cooked shrimp, so you may already have the ingredients on hand. The cod loins I buy can be cooked from frozen so that makes it even easier, but do thaw your fish first if the package recommends it. Of course, fresh fish fillets work fine too. They just won’t need to be cooked for quite as long. I like to serve this dish on a bed of roasted vegetable rice, but it would be equally nice served on a bed of couscous or with a side of potatoes. If you want to make it really special, use sparkling wine or champagne in the sauce instead of white wine.

To serve four people you need:-

4 fillets of white fish (cod loin works well), thawed if necessary
about 12 to 16 large frozen cooked shrimp, thawed
4 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons butter
2 generous tablespoons flour
½ cup white wine
about 1 to 1½ cups of milk
½ teaspoon dried tarragon
1 teaspoon lemon juice

enough rice to serve four
plus roasted vegetables to mix in with it if you like or just add some cooked frozen peas to the rice for color.

Place each piece of fish in a large square of aluminum foil and top with 1 teaspoon butter. Seal the foil into packages and place on a baking sheet. Bake at about 375℉ for about fifteen to twenty minutes until the fish is done and flakes easily with a fork. (Thawed or fresh fish will take less time than fish cooked from frozen.)

Meanwhile, melt the 2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for a minute or two. Gradually add the white wine, whisking as you add it. Gradually add the milk, a bit at at time, whisking after each addition until you get a nice consistency and medium thickness.

Pop the shrimp in the sauce and heat through, adding a bit more milk if you need to in order to keep a nice consistency. Add the tarragon and lemon juice and stir through. Taste, and add a bit of salt and pepper if necessary.

Remove the white fish from the aluminum foil parcel and place each piece on a plate on a bed of rice and vegetables. Serve the white wine and shrimp sauce on top, making sure each person gets about three or four of the large shrimp.

Fish on Friday-The 21st Century Housewife's©Pesto Crusted Fish with Couscous and Roasted Vegetables

I love fish, and am all for reviving the tradition of eating fish on Fridays, whether for religious or secular reasons. Fish is good for you, and provided you buy products that have been sustainably fished, it is good for the environment too. According to UN estimates, meat production accounts for nearly one-fifth of manmade greenhouse gases so eating fish one day a week can only help. Although “fresh” fish can be expensive, frozen fish is often a very good buy. And to be fair, unless you are buying directly from a fish monger, most of the fish labelled as "fresh" has actually been previously frozen just after it is caught and thawed under controlled temperature conditions so it can be marketed as "fresh" in the supermarkets. As a result, I tend to buy the majority of my fish frozen, both for reasons of freshness and economy. For example, I can get a big pack of sustainably fished cod loins really reasonably at Costco, and they are suitable for cooking straight from frozen.

Cooking time for fish will vary, depending on whether it is cooked from fresh or frozen, and how thick the fish is. A general guide is that when fish is cooked it should no longer be opaque and it will flake easily with a fork. The timings I have listed here are for my “cook from frozen” cod loins which are fairly thick as well. So go carefully, as overcooked fish is not nice - but then neither is undercooked fish :). Also oven temperatures can vary pretty radically oven to oven, so the first time you make this recipe, just keep an eye on it and go carefully. You can always turn the heat down a bit if things seem to be cooking too fast.

Don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients; this recipe is so delicious it is well worth the trouble, and it really does not take very long to put together. If red or yellow peppers are too expensive, you can use green bell peppers instead, or even some roasted red peppers from a jar (don’t roast the jarred peppers though, just heat them through with the couscous at the end of cooking). Same thing goes for the red onion - a plain onion will do nicely if the red ones are pricey.

My family love this recipe, but I love the fact that it is special enough for company too. It’s easily doubled if you have extra guests.

For the fish:-
4 cod or haddock loins, filleted, bones removed
(fresh or frozen)
2 tablespoons prepared basil pesto from a jar
2 tablespoons matzo meal (or bread crumbs)
drizzle of olive oil
grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

For the vegetables:-
1 red pepper, de-seeded and chopped in medium pieces
1 yellow pepper, de-seeded and chopped in medium pieces
1 zucchini, chopped in half moons
(cut the zucchini in half lengthwise, and then slice)
1 small red onion, peeled and cut in eighths
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Enough couscous for 4 people, prepared according to package directions.

4 large squares of aluminum foil

Start with the vegetables – place the peppers, zucchini and onion in a roasting dish. Drizzle with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and toss to cover. Place in the oven and roast at 400℉ (200℃) for about twenty-five minutes, stirring once half way through.

Meanwhile, mix the pesto, matzo meal and lemon rind together in a small bowl. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil into the mixture and stir.

Place each cod loin on a square of aluminum foil, skin side down. Sprinkle a bit of lemon juice over each piece. Using a spoon and your fingers, gently press the pesto mixture on to the top of the fish. Seal the aluminum foil up round each piece in a package shape. (Don’t press the foil down on to the fish or topping.) Place the fish parcels on a baking sheet and bake at 400℉ or 200℃ for about ten to fifteen minutes.

At this point, remove the fish from the oven and open the top of the parcels, leaving the foil open. Return to the oven so that the fish can finish cooking and the pesto crust can brown a little. This will take about five to ten minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish and whether it was fresh or frozen to start with. The fish is done when it is no longer opaque and flakes easily with a fork.

If the vegetables have finished cooking before the fish, just remove them from the oven and cover with aluminum foil and a clean tea towel to keep warm.

Prepare enough couscous for four people according to package directions. (This should normally take about five minutes.) Mix the couscous and roasted vegetables together (including any remaining oil in the roasting pan), and divide between four plates.

When it is fully cooked, serve the pesto crusted fish on top of the roasted vegetable couscous.