Smoked Mackerel & Tenderstem Risotto

Smoked mackerel works really well in a risotto and if you haven't tried it before, I'd urge you to give it a go. The oiliness of the fish makes for a comforting, creamy texture, and the smoked flavour is, well, delicious. The addition of tenderstem broccoli adds colour, freshness, a bit of crunch, and a heap of extra nutrients.

This is the perfect meal for an active day. Packed full of protein and carbs, it’ll aid muscle recovery and replenish those depleted glycogen stores. Smoked mackerel is also a great source of omega-3 fatty acids. Research suggests that omega-3 fatty acids can play a role in reducing delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), owing to their anti-inflammatory properties [1,2] and can also contribute to increased muscle protein synthesis [3-5].

Serves 1 (simply multiply up to feed more mouths)

Ingredients

• 75g risotto rice

• 1 large clove garlic, finely chopped

• 200ml chicken or vegetable stock

• 1 smoked mackerel fillet (about 75-100g)

• 75g tenderstem broccoli (trimmed to around 10cm lengths)

• 25g parmesan, grated

• Freshly ground pepper

Method

• Turn your oven to 200°C.

• Add a splash of olive oil to a pan and set over a low-medium heat. Add the chopped garlic and fry for a few seconds until fragrant, then add the risotto rice.

• Stir the rice and garlic quickly, so that the grains become coated in the oil and look shiny, but so that they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. After about 30 seconds, or sooner if the whole thing looks like it might start to burn, add a good splash of the stock. (If you've got some to hand, a small glass of white wine works well here too, for extra flavour). Continue to stir as the rice soaks up the stock/wine.

• You can then continue to add the stock to the risotto in batches, stirring as you go to make sure it doesn’t stick. (Don't feel you need to be watching and stirring the whole time though. Call me a risotto heathen, but I tend to add the stock in slightly larger batches and do a little less than continual stirring, so that I don't have to stay at the stove.

• Once the oven has reached temperature, put your mackerel fillet onto a tray and place in the oven. It won't need long - about 5 minutes - just enough time to heat it through and turn the skin crispy.

• Meanwhile bring another small pan of water to the boil and add the tenderstem. Cook for 2 minutes (until al dente) then remove from the heat, drain and run through cold water (this helps to keep the nice bright green colour).

• Remove the mackerel from the oven and roughly chop into large pieces. The meat will flake into smaller bits once you stir it into the risotto, but if you're using it, the skin's better cut into slightly smaller pieces, so chop that up now.

• Give your risotto a taste and see how close the grains of rice are to being cooked; slightly al dente is what you’re after. When you’re down to the final bit of stock, add the mackerel, parmesan and black pepper as well. Give it a good stir, breaking up the pieces of fish a bit as you go. Finally, add the tenderstem and give it all once last stir before you serve.

Nutrition

	Per 100g	Per serve (435g)
Calories (kcal)	155.3 kcal	636.9 kcal
Carbohydrate	14.4 g	59.2 g
of which sugars	0.5 g	2.1 g
Fat	6.7 g	27.3 g
of which saturates	2.0 g	8.0 g
Protein	7.9 g	32.6 g
Fibre	1.1 g	4.5 g

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References

[1] Jouris, K. B., McDaniel, J. L., & Weiss, E. P. (2011). The effect of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on the inflammatory response to eccentric strength exercise. Journal of sports science & medicine, 10(3), 432.

[2] Kim, J., & Lee, J. (2014). A review of nutritional intervention on delayed onset muscle soreness. Part I. Journal of exercise rehabilitation, 10(6), 349.

[3] Smith, G. I., Atherton, P., Reeds, D. N., Mohammed, B. S., Rankin, D., Rennie, M. J., & Mittendorfer, B. (2011). Dietary omega-3 fatty acid supplementation increases the rate of muscle protein synthesis in older adults: a randomized controlled trial. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 93(2), 402-412.

[4] Smith, G., et al., 2011. Dietary omega-3 fatty acid supplementation increases the rate of muscle protein synthesis in older adults: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 93(2),  402-12.

[5] Therdyothin, A., Prokopidis, K., Galli, F., Witard, O. C., & Isanejad, M. (2024). The effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on muscle and whole-body protein synthesis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutrition Reviews, 83(2), 131–143.