Risotto with Fennel & Smoked Salmon
This risotto skips arborio entirely. Brown rice holds more texture, the fennel goes in halfway through the simmer, and the smoked salmon never touches direct heat. It melts into the rice off the flame with the cheese.
841 kcal with 36g of protein and 15g of fiber, all from a single pan in about 20 minutes.
Ingredients
- onion 0.5
- garlic clove 1 clove
- fennel 1
- smoked salmon 2 oz
- olive oil 1 tbsp
- brown rice 3 oz
- vegetable bouillon 1 cube
- water 1.5 cup
- grated cheese 2 oz
Method
-
Finely chop the onion. Mince the garlic clove.
-
Rinse the fennel. Cut a slice off the bottom and remove the stems. Cut the fennel in half, remove the hard core and slice into strips.
-
Slice the smoked salmon into thin strips.
-
Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the onion and garlic for 3 minutes. Then add the rice and cook for a minute. Add the bouillon and water and let it simmer for about 15 minutes on low heat. Halfway through cooking, add the fennel strips to the risotto. Turn off the heat and stir in the grated cheese and salmon strips.
-
Serve the risotto with fennel and smoked salmon on a plate. Season with pepper to taste.
Add the fennel strips halfway through the simmer, not at the beginning. Fennel turns soft and loses its texture if it cooks the full 15 minutes with the rice, but 7–8 minutes of gentle heat softens the fibers while keeping enough structure to give each bite a slight crunch against the creamy rice.
Behind this recipe
Why does this recipe use brown rice instead of arborio?
Arborio rice releases starch as it cooks, which gives traditional risotto its signature creaminess. Brown rice doesn't do that. Instead, it keeps more texture and delivers 15g of fiber per serving that white arborio can't match. The grated cheese stirred in at the end compensates for the lower starch release and brings its own richness to the dish.
Can I use fresh salmon instead of smoked?
You can, but the recipe becomes a different dish. Smoked salmon adds a salty, smoky depth that fresh salmon doesn't have. If you swap to fresh, sear it separately in a hot pan until just cooked through, then flake it into the risotto at the end. You'll want to add a pinch more salt to compensate for losing the cure.
Is 36g of protein enough for a post-workout meal?
Research on per-meal protein utilization found the body can use more protein per sitting than the old 20–30g ceiling suggested. At 36g, this meal sits well within the effective ranges studied. Most of the protein comes from the smoked salmon and grated cheese working together.
Read the full evidence review
