Luke Mangan serves up a Pan-Fried Barramundi with Preserved Lemon & Basil Risotto & Sweet Pea Sauce, the perfect dish for impressing guest at a dinner party this winter.
By Luke Mangan www.lukemangan.com
I love hosting dinner parties, especially in the winter time. It’s a great chance for me to cook for family and friends and hopefully get them do the washing up! I love a home-cooked meal and sometimes I find it a lot more relaxing than being out.
If you are hosting a dinner party for friends, try to prepare as much of the meal beforehand as possible. This will allow you to sit back and relax when your guests arrive; if you are relaxed then your guests will be relaxed too.
One of my most successful dinner parties was making a simple risotto for my guests. I prepared it all beforehand so that when the guests arrived all that was needed to do was to heat it up and serve.
This dish is a perfect main for entertaining in any season; it’s also a great dish if you are having guests over for lunch. The sweet pea sauce has such a vibrant colour and looks great on the plate. Serve with full bodied white wine, such as an oaked Chardonnay or Viognier.
Pan-Fried Barramundi with Preserved Lemon & Basil Risotto & Sweet Pea Sauce
Serves 6
6 x 150g barramundi fillets
extra virgin oil
Risotto
100g butter
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
500g Arborio rice
100ml white wine
2 litres hot fish stock
1tbsp lemon thyme, chopped
1cup basil, chopped, plus 6 leaves for garnish
½ cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1tbsp chervil, chopped
150g good quality parmesan, grated
sea salt
30g preserved lemon
Sweet pea sauce
20g butter
1 small onion, peeled and sliced
50ml white wine
600ml fish stock
500g frozen peas
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To make the sauce
Melt butter in a medium pan and gently cook onion until softened.
Add white wine and boil until liquid has reduced by half.
Add hot fish stock, bring to boil and add peas.
Cook for 3 minutes, season, strain and reserve liquid.
Puree in a blender, adding enough reserved liquid to achieve a soup consistency.
Set aside.
To make the risotto
Melt 30g butter in a large, heavy based pan and cook onion gently until softened but not browned.
Add rice and stir constantly until grains are hot.
When hot, add white wine and cook until liquid is almost evaporated.
Turn down heat and gradually add hot fish stock, a ladleful at a time, stirring the rice constantly.
As rice takes up the liquid, add more stock until the rice is cooked, approximately 15-20 minutes.
Fold through the parmesan cheese, a little salt, herbs, preserved lemon and remaining butter into risotto.
Check seasoning and adjust if necessary.
For the Barramundi
Preheat oven to 180C.
Panfry barramundi in a little olive oil until lightly browned on both sides, then place in pre-heated oven for 5-7 minutes.
To serve
Divide risotto between 6 serving plates, placing a barramundi fillet atop.
Pour pea sauce around risotto.
Garnish with julienned strips of basil leaves.
