My experience of cooking risotto has not been good. The problem is that I have the attention span of a child and, regardless of how Nigella says she finds it soothing to stand stirring for 25 minutes, I get bored and wander off. And it hurts my back, and knees and neck, because even though I am barely middle-aged, I have the body of a ninety-year-old woman.

Yet, I love risotto, so it’s a monstrous, life-altering situation. Then I came across a recipe (BBC Food) that broke all the rules and allowed you to bake the risotto in the oven for 20 minutes, after a bit of initial stirring.

I am aware that there is a lot of haddock-snobbery out there, we should all be buying undyed and from a fishmongers. I buy the fake orangey smoked haddock from Lidl, it tastes the same to me but then I am probably quite a low rent sort of person.

Serves 4 (good for lunch/leftovers the next day)    Prep: 20 mins   Cooking time: 20-25 mins       

Ingredients

1 large leek, sliced

1 tbsp of butter

300g of Arborio rice

375g of smoked haddock, skinned and chopped into large chunks.

100g of raw or cooked prawns, defrosted. I used Tesco Finest Jumbo King Prawns.

600ml of stock (I used chicken)

250ml of milk

2 tbsp of crème fraiche

A couple of handfuls of spinach, washed

Parmesan (or other hard cheese) and black pepper to serve.

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. In an ovenproof pan, fry the leeks in the butter until soft. Do not brown.
2. Add the rice and stir until translucent.
3. Add the milk and the stock and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring continuously.
4. Place the chunks of smoked haddock on the top, stir lightly, and cover with a lid (you could use foil if you don’t have a lid).
5. Oven bake for 15 minutes until the rice and fish are cooked.
6. Remove from the oven and fold in the prawns, then return to the oven for five more minutes.
7. Make sure the prawns are cooked through (they should be completely pink if you used raw) and fold in the spinach leaves and crème fraiche.
8. Return to the oven for a few more minutes until the spinach has wilted. Serve with Parmesan and black pepper.