Carrot and Pea Risotto, Broiled Flounder and Roasted Asparagus: Cooking For Two
Servings: 2
Ingredients
Creamy Carrot and Pea Rice:
- ½ Tablespoon butter or oil
- 1 small onion minced
- 1 carrot peeled and grated or cut into thin matchsticks
- 1-2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ cup arborio rice
- 1 ¾ - 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth warm
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese or more, depending on how much you like it
- ⅓ cup frozen baby peas
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
Asparagus:
- 1 lb asparagus
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1-2 garlic cloves minced
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
Flounder:
- 2-4 flounder fillets
- 1-2 Tablespoons olive oil
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1-2 garlic cloves mince
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- fresh herbs minced, to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Place a large rimmed baking sheet in the bottom rack of the oven.
Start with the Creamy Carrot and Pea Rice first.
- Heat the butter or oil in a small, oven safe pot or sauté pan. Add the onion, carrot and garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook on medium low heat for 3-5 minutes, until the onions are tender and translucent.
- Add the rice and stir it so it gets well coated in the butter/oil and becomes fragrant, about 2- 3 minutes. Pour in the warm broth, bring to a boil.
- Cover the pot and put it into the preheated oven. The rice with take 15-20 minutes to cook.
Asparagus and Flounder:
- While the risotto is cooking, leave the large rimmed baking sheet in there. It needs to be scaldingly hot, so that the asparagus and flounder will start to immediately sizzle and cook as soon as you put them onto the pan.
- Snap the hard ends off the asparagus. If you bend them back, they snap off easily. You can do them one at a time, or line them up on a cutting board with the first asparagus that you snapped as a guide and cut across. The ends are very tough and fibrous, so you want to get rid of them.
- Toss them in a bowl with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Season the flounder on both sides with salt and pepper, spread out the minced garlic with your fingers, drizzle with olive oil, coating the fillets on both side, and squeeze half of the lemon on the fish, saving the other half to serve with the fish when it's cooked. Set aside as well.
- When the rice has cooked for 10 minutes, place the asparagus and the flounder on the hot baking sheet. You will hear them sizzle right away.
- Take the rice out of the oven.
- Turn on the broiler to 500 degrees Fahrenheit and move the oven rack to the highest shelf. Broil for 5 minutes.
- While the flounder and asparagus are finishing cooking, mix the rice. If it's not as creamy as you like, you can add a splash of cream or warm broth. Add Parmesan cheese, frozen peas and parsley. Mix to combine.
- Serve the flounder with freshly squeezed lemon juice and garnish with fresh herbs. Serve the rice, flounder and asparagus together.
