Prawn and Spinach Risotto

Hadn't been to the shops for a while and no clear plan on what to make for the memsahib's dinner. The fridge had a vat of stock from a chicken earlier in the week. The veg drawer had half an onion and half a red pepper, plus a bag of spinach.

The stock was the inspiration. Normally, that would become soup, but risotto also comes to mind. I usually have a bag of frozen prawns in the freezer, nice big uncooked ones, and we always have some smoked salmon. The trouble with risotto is that it can be very tasteless if you're not careful. This is what I did and, though I say it myself, it was rather good.

The number of prawns you use will depend on the size. Mine were quite large, so I cut each one into four.

Ingredients

½ onion, very finely chopped; ½ red pepper, very finely chopped; 200g risotto rice; clove of garlic, crushed; chicken stock; 8 raw frozen prawns, defrosted; about half a dozen salted anchovy fillets, cut into pieces; 1 - 2 slices smoked salmon, cut into small pieces; half a small bag of spinach (about 100g); fish sauce; zest of a lemon; lemon juice to taste; butter; black pepper.

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Warm the stock. Gently fry the onion, red pepper and garlic in the butter. After a few minutes add the rice and stir to make sure all the grains are coated. Stir in half of the anchovy. When the veg are soft, start adding the stock, a ladle at a time. Stir gently. You want the rice to absorb the liquid but be careful not to break it down. Keep adding stock as the last lot is absorbed. Season with fish sauce. When the rice is maybe four minutes away from being ready, add the prawns. Add the spinach in batches, allowing each batch to wilt before adding more. Check the seasoning at this stage. You may want more anchovy and more fish sauce. A grating of pepper is good, but you won't need salt.

A couple of minutes before the rice is done, chuck in the smoked salmon bits and the lemon zest. When the rice is nicely al dente, check the seasoning again. Add a good squeeze of lemon juice and another grating of pepper.