Instant Pot Salmon, Pea & Bacon Risotto

When I first got my Instant Pot, I tried a risotto as that seemed to be the thing which everyone does on becoming the proud owner of an IP! The thing is, I randomly chose a recipe to try as the result of a lazy Google search and quite frankly, it was a bit pants. It took a go 20 minutes of cooking, was bland and uninspiring.

That was a good year ago now and to be honest, I gave up at that and didn’t bother trying another pressure cooker risotto until recently and boy was I gutted I had waited so long! After asking my readers how they liked to cook their Instant Pot risottos and a little experimentation on my part, I think I’ve cracked it.

My Instant Pot Salmon, Pea and Bacon Risotto really needs to be on your meal plan this week!

It turns out, me and Hungry Hubby really love a 5 minute pressure cooker risotto. It’s definitely fully cooked but certainly not mush – if you like a really soft risotto, you can add a couple of minutes on the cooking time or add a little extra stock to begin with and it will come out more well done.

Just give it a try at 5 mins and amend the cooking time to suit thereafter. I really couldn’t believe it the first time I tried it, I was convinced 5 minutes was sheer madness but it worked so well. And I so did not miss all the stirring and spilling of stock all over my hob that I would normally do for a traditional risotto!

[clickToTweet tweet=”How to cook perfect risotto in the Instant Pot in just 5 minutes! ” quote=”How to cook perfect risotto in the Instant Pot in just 5 minutes! “]

The flavours in this particular risotto are inspired by a recipe I recently reminded myself of from Nigella’s How To Eat (the cooking bible, nay masterpiece, every home cook must read). It was a simple dish of salmon cooked in bacon fat, served with a pea purée.

Oh, how I love it! I am one of those Brits who adores mushy peas (I disgust Hungry Hubby at eating them straight out the tin in desperate times 😉 ) so it was always going to be a winner for me.

I am not, however, completely indiscriminate in my passion for the pea; I really detest petit pois but marrowfat and garden I adore. I opt for frozen garden peas here which are thawed then seasoned with parmesan (cheesy peas = a very happy JoJo) before folding into the cooked rice with a single salmon fillet between two and a few crisp as you like lardons of smoked bacon sprinkled on top.

If I made double this recipe, I’d eat the lot – beware, you may do the same too 😉

5 from 1 vote

Print

Instant Pot Salmon, Pea & Bacon Risotto

Oh this is so moreish - the freshness of the peas against the salty, crisp, smoked bacon and creamy, rich fish is just a marriage made in heaven. 

Course: Main Course

Servings: 2 servings

: 690 kcal

Author: Just Jo

Ingredients

• 150 g frozen garden peas
• 3 rashers smoked streaky bacon, cut into little pieces
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 150 g arborio risotto rice
• 50 ml white wine or white Vermouth
• 300 ml hot vegetable stock (plus an extra 100-150ml)
• 2 tbsp grated parmesan
• 1 cooked fillet of salmon*, flaked (don't flake it too finely - 1-2cm pieces are good)

Instructions

1. Start by putting the peas in a sieve and pouring a kettle of boiling water over them, to thaw them and warm them up slightly. Allow to drain.

2. Set the IP to Sauté mode and when hot, add the bacon and olive oil and cook until the fat has rendered out and the bacon is crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve on a plate for now. 

3. Add the onion and cook until softened then add the rice. Stirring well, cook for a minute or two until slick with oil and then pour in the wine followed by the 300ml stock. Pop the lid on, close the vent and set to Manual High for 5 minutes. 

4. Meanwhile, blend the thawed peas with the parmesan and the reserved 100ml of stock (I use my Bamix stick blender). 

5. When the timer sounds on the Instant Pot, do a QPR and then stir the risotto well. Add a little splash of stock if looking too dry then stir in the peas and most of the bacon. Stir in the flaked salmon trying not to break it up too much and serve with the reserved bacon crumbles on top. Season with black pepper and more parmesan if liked. 

Recipe Notes

1. *= you can substitute the cooked fillet of salmon for a hot smoked one if you like, just use unsmoked bacon as it can be a touch too salty/smokey with both.
2. It's always a good idea to have more stock available for risottos as all rice absorbs it differently. Plus you make yours looser than mine.
3. And finally, try cooking the rice for 5 minutes and if you prefer it softer (it is already on the right side of al dente for me at 5 mins) then cook for a couple of minutes more. Once you work out how you like it, cook accordingly.

This post contains affiliate links, meaning I will earn a little commission if you chose to buy items I’ve advertised, helping me to bring you all these recipes for free!

Like this post? Then why not try these related recipes: