Rice with salmon and zucchini, Thermomix in 25 minutes
A quick, delicate main course: rice, fresh salmon and zucchini all cooked in the bowl. The salmon stays whole thanks to the Soft speed.
A quick, healthy, flavorful main course: thanks to the 10-minute parboiled rice and the help of the Thermomix, you get a creamy, fragrant dish on the table in no time, perfect even for a busy weeknight lunch.
The trick to keeping the salmon whole is the Soft speed (the spoon symbol) in the final stage of cooking: it stirs gently, cooking the fish without breaking it up.
Reverse mode and Soft speed: what they actually do
These are the two functions that make it possible to cook dishes like this in the bowl, and it's worth understanding the difference.
Reverse mode turns the blades using their blunt back edge instead of the sharp side: it stirs without cutting. It's needed throughout the cooking, from the sauté onward, otherwise by the end you'd have a purée of zucchini and rice instead of a dish with texture.
Soft speed (the spoon symbol) adds an intermittent, very slow motion, designed specifically for delicate ingredients. It's what lets the salmon cubes cook while staying whole, the way you see them in the photo.
Using reverse at speed 1 even in the final stage wouldn't be a disaster, but the salmon would break apart a lot more.
The salmon: when to add it
Timing is everything: salmon cubes of 1.5 cm cook in 3-4 minutes, no more. Add it at the start together with the rice, and after 10 minutes it would be dry and tough.
Buying it already cleaned saves time, but if you clean it yourself, run your hand over the flesh against the grain to feel for pin bones: they come out easily with tweezers. Frozen salmon works too, as long as it's fully thawed and well patted dry first.
About the rice: why the 10-minute type
Parboiled quick-cooking rice (or any similar fast-cooking rice) holds up well without overcooking, which is what makes this dish a genuine 25-minute lifesaver.
If you'd rather use a risotto rice like Carnaroli, it works, but the method changes: extend the times to match the pack instructions and toast the rice before adding the liquid, as in pumpkin risotto. The result will be creamier and less separated.
Why not to over-salt the water
Because the salmon, any Parmesan you add and the stock powder already bring salt. Better to taste and adjust at the end than end up with an inedible dish.
Variations
- With shrimp instead of salmon, same timing and same Soft speed.
- With smoked salmon: add it raw at the end, off the heat, cut into strips.
- Richer: a spoonful of homemade cooking cream stirred in at the end.
- Without fish: just zucchini and a handful of fresh mint at the end of cooking.
Storage
Like all risotto-style dishes, it's at its best fresh. It keeps a day in the fridge, but the rice keeps absorbing liquid: when you reheat it, add a splash of water or broth and stir gently so you don't break up the fish any further.
Ingredients
- 250 g quick-cooking parboiled rice (10-minute type)
- 300 g fresh salmon (fillet, cleaned and cut into cubes about 1.5 cm)
- 250 g zucchini, cut into small chunks
- 1 small shallot (about 20 g)
- 30 g extra virgin olive oil
- 40 g white wine (optional, for deglazing)
- 600 g hot water (or light vegetable broth)
- 1 scant teaspoon salt (or 1 teaspoon homemade vegetable stock powder)
- untreated lemon zest or chives, to garnish
Method
- 1
Put the peeled shallot, halved, into the bowl and chop it
⏱ 5 secvel 5 - 2
Open the lid and scrape the chopped shallot off the sides with the spatula, pushing it down well toward the bottom of the bowl
- 3
Add the oil and the zucchini chunks on top of the shallot and let it soften, reverse mode
⏱ 3 minvel 1🌡 120°C - 4
Add the rice and toast it, reverse mode
⏱ 1 minvel 1🌡 100°C - 5
Pour the white wine in through the lid opening, without the measuring cup, to let the alcohol evaporate, reverse mode
⏱ 1 minvel 1🌡 100°C - 6
Add the hot water (or broth) and the salt, reverse mode. Rest the basket on the lid in place of the measuring cup, to let the steam out without splashing
⏱ 6 minvel 1🌡 100°C - 7
Add the salmon cubes through the lid opening and continue cooking at Soft speed (the spoon symbol), reverse mode: it cooks the fish gently without breaking it apart
⏱ 3-4 minvel soft (spoon)🌡 100°C - 8
Pour the rice into a serving dish, add a drizzle of raw oil if you like and stir gently. Add a hint of lemon zest or chives, let it rest for a couple of minutes and serve
Tip
If you prefer the zucchini more crunchy, sauté them separately in a pan with a drizzle of oil over high heat for 5 minutes and add them at the end of cooking. Grated lemon zest, added raw, cleanses the palate: use only the yellow part. When you transfer the rice to the serving dish, stir gently so you don't break up the salmon cubes.
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