Orzo, Salmon and Rocket Risotto topped with a Poached Egg

Risotto is one of those dishes that just always hits the spot…

I have strayed slightly away from the traditional risotto recipe today by substituting rice (usually the key ingredient) with pasta. The result was delicious. Orzo is basically a rice shaped pasta so the texture of this is very similar to the standard risotto but the pasta gives the whole dish a little more flavour than rice and absorbs the stock a lot quicker. I kept the rest of the ingredients very simple, yet lovely – salmon, rocket, spinach and poached egg – and it takes thirty minutes to cook. In short this recipe is a real winner.

I also wanted to mention that I tend to create recipes that are recommended as serving two people as that is the quantity that I personally cook for. It is also makes it very easy for you guys to scale dishes up to feed as many people as you need. This risotto could be made in bulk and would be perfect for a dinner party served up with a large bowl of the rocket salad and garlic bread. I would definitely recommend skipping the poached egg if you do this though as poaching up to 12 eggs at once would be enough for anyone to have a nervous breakdown and have to cancel the party. N.B. if the idea of poaching even one egg seems a bit frazzling then use a fried egg instead or just skip the egg all together…

Serves 2

Prep time – 10 minutes

Cooking time – 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 gloves garlic, peeled and diced
1 celery stick, finely chopped
1 handful of parsley, finely chopped
200 g orzo
500 ml vegetable stock
2 fillets salmon, skin taken off and cut into bite sized chunks
juice of one lemon
70 g rocket
40 g spinach, coarsely chopped
salt and pepper
1 tbsp of butter
2 eggs

Method

In a large frying pan heat 1 tbsp of olive oil on a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and celery and fry for 5 minutes until soft.
Add the orzo to the pan and stir to combine with the vegetables and fry for one minute. Gradually add ladles of the stock to the pan, waiting for the previous ladle to be fully absorbed before adding the next. Do this with 300 ml of the stock and then add the salmon the pan, and stir it in. Season this with a little salt and a generous amount of pepper.
Gradually add the rest of the stock to the pan. Stir in 60 g of the rocket and all of the spinach with the final ladle of stock. Squeeze in half of the lemon juice. Taste the risotto an add in more boiled water if the orzo is not yet soft and add salt and pepper to taste.
Meanwhile in a bowl stir together the remaining olive oil, lemon juice and rocket and season with salt and pepper.
Poach the eggs. Everyone has different methods of doing this. I personally half fill a small pan with boiling water and turn the heat down so it is not actually bubbling and then use a spoon to stir the water quickly to create a whirlpool effect. I crack the egg into a ramekin and then pour the egg into the water and cook for 4 minutes. I then use a slotted spoon to remove the egg and lay it on a piece of kitchen towel to absorb excess moisture.
Plate up the risotto and top each with a poached egg and the rocket salad.

I hope that you enjoyed this recipe! Please let me know in the comments what you think and do not forget to subscribe or follow my Instagram for more recipes from me! The links to do both can be found in the side bar >>>