Recipe: Baked salmon with asparagus, pea and mascarpone risotto

A quick and easy risotto in under an hour, from Laura at My Gluten Free Guide – and bone-friendly too!

Makes: 3-4 portions
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 large onion
• 2 large cloves of garlic
• 250g risotto rice (arborio)
• 200ml white wine
• 1 litre vegetable stock
• 200ml water
• 150g asparagus, chopped into small pieces
• 150g frozen peas
• Black pepper
• 100g mascarpone cheese
• 500g salmon (or enough for one fillet per person)
• 1 lemon

Method

1. Finely dice the onion and add to a non-stick pan or high-sided frying pan with some olive oil. Cook over a medium-low heat for 10 minutes until it is soft and translucent.
2. While the onion is softening, prepare the salmon. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (fan). Place the fillets on a baking tray lined with tin foil, then slice the lemon into half-moon pieces and place on top of the salmon. Lay a second piece of foil over the top of the salmon and crimp the edges of the two pieces together to create a sealed parcel. Set aside while the oven heats.
3. Now back to the pan, mince the garlic and add to the onion, stirring through for 1 minute until it becomes fragrant.
4. Add the risotto rice and white wine to the pan and turn the heat up to medium. Cook until the wine has been absorbed by the rice.
5. Put the salmon in the oven - it will need 15-20 minutes to cook, depending on how you like it.
6. While the salmon is cooking, make a start on the risotto. Start to integrate the stock, adding about 100ml at a time to the rice and stirring constantly to avoid the risotto sticking to the bottom of the pan. The rice will quadruple in volume once cooked and if you run out of stock, just add the 200ml water until the rice is nice and soft (or al dente if you prefer it the Italian way). This will take about 15 minutes - don't forget about the salmon, you can take this out of the oven and set aside (still in its parcel) while you finish the risotto.
7. When almost all of the liquid has been absorbed, stir the frozen peas and asparagus through the risotto and cook for a final 5 minutes.
8. Stir the mascarpone through the risotto, heat for 1 minute, season to taste with black pepper and then it's ready to serve. Spoon the risotto into wide pasta bowls, top each one with a salmon fillet and serve with some fresh rocket salad on the side. Delicious!

The risotto base keeps well as leftovers, simply store in the fridge in an airtight container and enjoy within two days.

My Gluten Free Guide 

Laura is a gluten-free recipe developer and author of cookbook "Eat & Enjoy Gluten Free", which features 100 delicious gluten-free recipes.

Diagnosed with coeliac disease 25 years ago, she’s passionate about helping other gluten-free people to rediscover their love of food. Coeliac disease is one of the risk factors for osteoporosis due to poor absorption of calcium. Read more about it in our coeliac disease fact sheet now.

You can find Laura on social media @myglutenfreeguide or find more delicious recipes at My Gluten Free Guide.