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Pasta & rice main dishes

Swordfish and courgette risotto

⏱ 30 min🍳 20 min👤 2 pp★★★☆☆

This risotto is really quite unusual because it cleverly combines fish and vegetables so as to produce a cheerful, colourful and zesty result. The basic risotto is not combined with white wine in this case, but rather with lemon juice which gives the dish its freshness and character right from the outset. Neither does the final addition of flavours involve butter or cheese, but only a dash of extra virgin olive oil, parsley and lemon peel: freshness and healthiness, therefore, go hand-in-hand for this dish: success is guaranteed.

Ingredients

Nutritional values 420 kcal / serving
Protein
28g
Carbohydrates
58g
Fat
8g
Fiber
2g

* approximate values per serving

Information
30 minutes Total time
20 minutes Active time
Serves 2 persons
★★★☆☆ Challenging

Preparation

Cut the courgettes into cubes and toss in a frying pan with a little olive oil. Set aside. Also cut the swordfish into cubes and fry it in the same pan. Set aside. And in the same pan, without washing it, cook the chopped onion, then coat the rice in the hot oil and add the lemon juice until well combined. Cook the risotto until nearly done by adding hot vegetable stock bit by bit, stirring every time, then season with salt and add the courgettes, swordfish, parsley and grated lemon zest. Stir in some olive oil (a spoonful is more than enough). Serve hot.

Tips
Always use the same frying pan for cooking the various ingredients: the risotto will profit from an improved flavour and you won't need to add any further oil
Trivia
The swordfish, which is very plentiful in the Mediterranean sea near the Straits of Messina, is often confused with another similar fish, 'tetrapturus belone'. However, while the latter has a cylindrically shaped sword, swordfish have a flat one.

Step by step

Ingredients
Ingredients
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Additional information

Risotto with Swordfish and Eggplant

Risotto with swordfish and eggplant is a good alternative to risotto with swordfish and zucchini. If you don't have zucchini at home but have a nice eggplant, you can proceed this way. Remove the seeds from the eggplant and cut it into very small cubes. Sauté it separately with a little garlic and parsley, and only when it is well cooked, use it to prepare your risotto. Don't forget to salt the eggplant as well. Then proceed with the preparation of the risotto, toasting the rice, deglazing it with white wine, adding the swordfish and the eggplant. It is a very flavorful risotto that you can finally garnish with fresh parsley. 

Risotto with Swordfish and Saffron

Saffron can give any risotto (or almost) a wonderfully fragrant, slightly spicy, and colorful touch like never before. It is the perfect counterpoint to various ingredients. Excellent is the risotto with sausage and saffron, but also very good with fish. So try the risotto with shrimp and saffron, or the risotto with swordfish and saffron. These are always appreciated flavors. A good mantecatura will do the rest. Don't forget to dissolve your sachet of saffron separately in a glass with a couple of fingers of water, instead of pouring it directly into the risotto. 

Risotto with Swordfish and Cherry Tomatoes

Risotto with swordfish and cherry tomatoes is great for those who can't give up that hint of red that Italians love so much. Our advice is to prepare the cherry tomatoes in advance and add them only at the end of the cooking of the risotto. A good idea is to roast the cherry tomatoes in the oven for an hour at low temperature (120 degrees), after sprinkling them with salt, oregano, and sugar. You will get delicious confit cherry tomatoes that, if added in the last 5 minutes of cooking your risotto with swordfish and cherry tomatoes, will give it a caramelized and irresistible flavor, perfect for highlighting the unique taste of such a prized fish. 

Risotto with Swordfish and Lemon

The freshness of lemon is always the perfect counterpoint for any fish-based dish. The important thing is to dose it wisely. Grate the lemon zest generously to add to your risotto, making sure to only grate the yellow part and not the white part, which is notoriously very bitter. You can also add a bit of lemon juice to the risotto, but don't overdo it. Finish the preparation by decorating the risotto with swordfish and lemon with a lemon zest and finely chopped parsley.