Spinach and Mackerel Risotto

Coming from a medieval market town situated on the coast of West Wales naturally that I’ve grown up with the smell of the sea and fish all around me. One of the most amazing things about living so close to a thriving sea is being able to indulge in a little fishing from time to time. My dad has become a pretty enthusiastic fisher over the past few years, and although I’ve not quite followed him in his hobby I have been fishing with him a few times.

There are two benefits of catching your own fish: firstly, it means the fish are extra fresh and tasty; and, secondly it means the fish are free. Unfortunately, the season for mackerel isn’t quite upon us yet so I can’t write a post which includes any freshly caught fish. However, I thought it would be nice to write about such experiences at the beginning of a truly delicious recipe that really shows off the flavour of a good smoked mackerel recipe.

The problem with eating fish once a week or, indeed, every Friday, as every “proper” family should, is that it can cost a proverbial “arm and a leg.” To get around this, it is either best to get the cheaper fish such as mackerel or haddock, or if you’re making a fish pie, buy off-cuts of salmon, cod or haddock from your fishmongers. If you’re happy to eat the cheaper types of fish, then you’ll really save rather a lot of money. However, that is not to say that the cheaper fish are in any way inferior to those that are more expensive. Indeed, I think mackerel if properly prepared has a really exquisite flavour, not to mention the fact it has roughly double the amount ofOmega 3as a salmon of similar size.

At this point I’m going to advocate purchasing your smoked mackerel either from a fishmongers, where you know it’s been reliably sourced, or from Sainsbury’s because even in the basics range their mackerel is “certified sustainable seafood.” What this basically means is that the fish aren’t going to run out any time soon, if ever – which is a nice thought. However, I think I’ve been blabbering enough, on with the cooking!

Spinach and Mackerel Risotto {recipe}

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 3 fillets of smoked mackerel, broken up into chunks
• large handful of fresh spinach
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 1 clove of garlic mashed
• 150g risotto rice, any rice will do though
• 600ml vegetable stock
• seasoning
• knob of butter, or spread