Pan-fried cod and cherry tomato risotto

- 1 white onion, finely diced
- 1 small carrot, finely diced.
- 1 celery stalk, finely diced
- Olive oil
- 350g cherry tomatoes or mini San marzano
- Handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped
- Salt & Pepper
- 80g pancetta, diced
- 1/2 glass of white wine
- 250g risotto rice
- 750g vegetable stock
- 25g Parmesan, grated
- 20g unsalted butter
- 2 cod fillets
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Basil pesto (optional to serve)
- First, make the tomato sauce. In a saucepan, drizzle olive oil and fry half the onion, half the celery and carrot on a low heat until softened.
- Add the cherry tomatoes ( whole, including the vine if available) and basil. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cook for 30-40 minutes, until tomatoes have softened. With a wooden spoon, break the tomatoes skin and allow juices to reduce to a sauce. Take the pan off the heat and remove the vine once the sauce is cooked.
- Next up, is the risotto. Fry the remaining onion and celery in olive oil and half the butter until the vegetables are softened.
- Add the pancetta until its browned
- Then add the risotto rice to the pan, and let it toast for a few minutes. Make sure you keep stirring the risotto
- Pour in the white wine, keep on stirring until the liquid it has evaporated.
- Next, pour in the tomato sauce and half the stock. Keep the risotto stirring. When most of the liquid has evaporated, keep on adding stock, ladle at a time until the risotto is cooked. Ideally, the risotto should be cooked ‘al dente’ with a slight bite. Make sure you don’t overcook it as it can get too sloppy, like porridge.
- When the risotto is cooked how you want it, stir in the Parmesan and butter.
- Next, cook the cod. In a frying pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil. Season the cod with salt and place the cod skin down into the frying pan, when the pan is hot.
- Cook skin side down for 3 minutes until the skin has turned slightly brown. Then turn the cod over and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Add the lemon juice while cooking – it gives it a great flavour. The cod should be flaky and moist.
- Finally, place the pan fried cod on top of the risotto. Serve with basil pesto
The Tiny Italian
Ciao, I’m Paola I’m Paola (The Tiny Italian). I'm an Italian food expert cook and teacher. I teach people to not only cook but teach them how to LOVE TO COOK. I help change peoples mindset by showing them that cooking is not only for 'FOODIES' and sharing the fun, stress-free side with recipes, tips and cooking experiences.
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The Comments
Jezza
This is one of the nicest things I have ever eaten! Incredible recipe. Simple and beautiful x