Smoked fish risotto with bacon & a poached egg
on Nov 05, 2014, Updated Jul 30, 2019
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It was my birthday just over a week ago, and so Mr. Scrummy and I decided to go out for a meal to celebrate. Having just moved into the city, we weren’t too sure where to go so we took a little advice and booked ourselves into a place with a pretty good reputation for Sunday lunch. We’d left it a little late to book, so ended up with an early midday booking, but that didn’t bother us at all. We just made a mental note not to eat too much breakfast (and then did anyway – oh well, it was my birthday …)
When we arrived, we were seated at a little table for two that was ominously placed less than an arm’s length from the next. Sure enough, no sooner had we ordered our starter, than another couple arrived and were shown to their table … you guessed it, right next to our own, despite the almost empty restaurant.
So this is what ensued. We chatted fairly quietly, they chatted fairly quietly, and we all heard every word the others said. No matter how hard we tried to concentrate on our own conversation, all myself and Mr. Scrummy could do was listen to theirs. When you’re that close, it’s almost impossible not to.
You might think this would make for the meal out from hell, but actually the whole thing ended up being pretty entertaining. The other couple were certainly quite different to us (their conversation was a little more ‘high-brow’ than our own, let’s say), intellectually discussing this thing and that before moving onto an in-depth critique of the food and service (maybe they were undercover food critics?) Nothing wrong with all this, of course, but before long Mr. Scrummy began to roll his eyes and pull faces, which of course made me want to giggle.
In the end we gobbled down our dessert rather more quickly than we would have ordinarily done and got ourselves out of there asap. Awkward? Just slightly. I’m sure the minute we left the other couple breathed an equally as loud sigh of relief as we did when we walked out of those restaurant doors.
The upside of this whole experience was that my fish risotto starter gave me a little inspiration for today’s recipe. I was going to call it ‘smoked haddock’ risotto because that’s the fish that you’d use for any dish like this in the UK, but after doing a little research I realised that you may not be able to get smoked haddock where you are. If not, any uncooked smoked white fish will work, or indeed any ordinary white fish, although the smoked aspect gives the finished risotto such a hit of flavour … and goes brilliantly with the bacon and poached egg.
You make this risotto pretty much like you would any risotto, except when you fry up your onion at the beginning you add a little curry powder. You then add stock (fish stock, of course) to risotto rice ladleful by ladleful until it’s all used up. Poach the fish in a little milk for a couple of minutes, flake it into the risotto, stir in some frozen peas, parsley, and a little butter and crème fraiche (or mascarpone if you can’t find crème fraiche) and you’ve got yourself a creamy, intensely flavourful and comforting bowl of deliciousness. Top it with a couple of slices of bacon and a runny poached egg and for me this is pretty much food heaven.
Unfortunately, though, not for everyone. I suspect that this dish may fall into that ‘love it or hate it’ category. Like olives and brussels sprouts and blue cheese and licorice, beets, sushi, tofu, liver, prunes and … well, I could go on and on, of course. Poor Mr. Scrummy just HATED everything about this and declared that it was his food hell. I suspected he would, to be honest, but naively thought I might be able to win him over because there was bacon with it. So my pre-dinner spiel went something like this: Now I know you don’t really like ‘fishy fish’, I know you aren’t so keen on risotto and I know adding an egg on the top of things isn’t your favourite thing to do … but there’s bacon on it so maybe you’ll like it! Hmm … turns out he doesn’t get the wool pulled over his eyes so easily.
So would this be your food heaven or food hell? Come on, you can be honest. What else would be your food hell? For me it would be a big fresh cream slice with layers of pastry in it. Yuck.
Smoked fish risotto with bacon & a poached egg
Ingredients
- 1 small to medium onion, finely chopped
- a little olive oil
- 1 bay leaf, optional
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon curry powder, medium strength
- 1 cup arborio rice
- 2 cups fish stock
- 10 ounces smoked fish, uncooked – not smoked salmon, for instance - I used undyed smoked haddock
- 1 handful chopped parsley
- 2 1/2 ounces small sweet frozen peas
- enough milk to poach the fish in
- 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons crème fraiche, or mascarpone cheese
- 1 rasher of bacon per person, pan-fried
- a few squeezes of lemon juice
- 1 poached egg per person
Instructions
- In a large high-sided wok or pan, fry the onion in the olive oil for a few minutes until soft, then add the bay leaf, thyme & curry powder and cook for another minute or so.
- Add the rice and stir really well, then add the fish stock one ladleful at a time until it’s all used up. If the rice still isn't cooked, add ladles of water until it is.
- Meanwhile, cook the bacon and keep warm while you poach the fish. Bring the milk to a simmer, then poach the fish in it for a couple of minutes until cooked through. Discard the milk (or save it to make a fish pie!) then flake the fish into the risotto. Add the parsley, peas, butter & crème fraiche and give it all a good stir.
- Finally, serve out the risotto and top each plate/dish with a squeeze of lemon, a rasher of bacon and a soft poached egg.
Notes
Nutrition
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I hate it when restaurants do that! The.Boy would have probably (LOUDLY) requested to be seated somewhere else….but he’s outspoken like that. At least you got some recipe inspiration out of it! Love the sound of this risotto. I’ve made risotto with smoked salmon before and the smoked fish definitely adds a world of flavor!
Now there’s an idea. We didn’t even think of complaining – typical British way, I guess! But then again, it was much more fun to sit there and giggle about it. Although I wrote in the recipe notes not to use smoked salmon, I think now you’ve mentioned it it actually could work. 🙂
Haha Helen, I have definitely played the “…but there’s bacon in it!” card before. I think I would love this dish. Food heaven for me! Risotto is one of my favorite dishes. It’s so warm and creamy and comforting! And happy belated birthday!! Wishing you a fabulous year of happiness, love, and health! 🙂
Aw, thanks so much for the good birthday wishes, Alyssa! I’m happy that no one has called this their food hell yet. Just Mr. Scrummy!
Happy belated birthday to you! It sounds like an interested one, for sure. My boyfriend and I ate at a little place one time – didn’t make a reservation and the place was packed. After waiting for about 45 minutes, we were asked if we minded being seated with another couple. We were like, weird but ok. So we sat and chatted with them. Found out that the gal knew people I worked with and actually had an interview at my job. Small world, huh?
On to this recipe. I’ve been eating cereal for dinner the past couple of nights. Don’t ask me why but I’ve been craving it. BUT, now that I see this, I want it now. Looks great, Helen!
So glad to have given you your appetite back for real food, Julie! Nothing wrong with cereal, but you definitely need to be tempted out of that!
Your meal with the other couple sounds like fun. I’ve had that kind of thing happen, too, and ended up having a great time. Maybe we should have started chatting to the couple next to us next week. Might have worked out better than the awkwardness we actually had!
Happy belated birthday Helen! This risotto looks so creamy and delicious, I love it! Sorry that your husband did not like it after all! I’m excited to try it, never used fish and curry powder in my risotto. Pinned!
Thanks so much for pinning, Mira. My husband can be a bit picky where food is concerned … hehe! Don’t take any notice – this was actually delicious!
A most happy birthday (belated, I know)! I smiled at your story – isn’t it strange they always sit people so closely when the restaurant is close to empty??!!
I happen to love risotto and poached eggs, but have never had haddock, but your photos make me want to try it! Lovely as always.
Hello, Lori … thanks so much for the birthday wishes! I’m sure nearly everyone can relate to this restaurant situation. It’s not so bad when it’s full and there’s a lot of noise, but when it’s empty? Weird! Awkward x 10!
So glad you like the risotto. Haddock is a very British fish, but any smoked white fish would go great in this!
Happy belated birthday. This is a lovely dish and I love the hint of curry, love risotto.
Thanks so much, Janette … so glad you like the risotto, too!
Happy belated birthday, Helen! This risotto looks incredible! It’s one of my favorite dishes to order out, so I’m loving that you created your own. I’ve never had a smoked fish kind before, so I’m intrigued!The curry and poached egg seems like the perfect touch!
Thanks, Gayle! So glad you like the sound of this. A smoked fish risotto has become quite popular over here in recent years … do try it some time!
Happy belated birthday Helen! And I hate it when restaurants do that. Why can’t they see how awkward that might be for both couples? I once sat down in a French creperie and it was empty and another guy sat right next to me and started smoking. Why can’t people make space? 😛 Anyway, sounds like you were inspired at least! 😉
Thanks so much for the bday wishes, Lorraine. I know, awkward, awkward, awkward. I think I would have moved away waving my arms in the air to clear away the smoke in an exaggerated fashion if I’d been in that situation. 😉
Wow! This is such an impressive meal!
Ha! So glad you think so, Annie!!
En tout cas Helen, celle ci ne sera pas mon plat “hell” ! Il a l’air délicieux ! Mon plat hell sera quelque chose avec le fenouil ! J’aime beaucoup ta présentation et l’Å“uf c’est un vraie plus !
Tu n’aimes pas le fenouil?? Non!! Moi, je l’adore, mais je comprends que c’est pas un gout pour tout le monde. Je suis ravie que tu aimes le risotto. Pour moi c’est vraiment un plat du paradis!