Nothing beats a good risotto for dinner. When I make them, I always kick myself for not cooking them more often because they are such a delicious and filling meal. I have to admit that for the half hour or so of cooking time for this meal, it is quite hands on with all the stirring required. The effort is definitely worth it though so don’t let that turn you off.
I make sure I stir the risotto every 20-30 seconds through the cooking process and use those snippets of time in between to get little jobs done in the kitchen (dishes, setting the table, getting drinks ready, making the salad). I do have some other super easy, yummy baked risotto recipes that I will share with you over time. The baked risotto recipes do not require the stirring like this traditional risotto however, in the meantime, I encourage you to give this one a try as it is so worth it ….
Bacon and Mushroom Risotto
Ingredients (serves 4)
- 4-6 cups (960-1440 ml) chicken stock
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 5 lean bacon rashers finely chopped
- 1 ½ cups (285 g) Arborio rice
- 1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
- 200 g (7 oz) button mushrooms halved
- ½ cup (45 g) basil leaves
- ½ cup (45 g) grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Place the stock in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and cover with a lid.
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat then add the onion and bacon.
- Cook, stirring for 5 minutes or so until soft and changed color.
- Add the rice, stir well and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the can of tomatoes and stir well until the liquid is absorbed.
- Reduce the temperature to low/medium then add one ladle full of hot stock to the rice.
- Stir until the stock has been absorbed then add the next ladle of stock.
- Continue to gradually add the stock and stir until it’s been absorbed until half the stock is gone.
- Add the mushrooms at this point then continue to add the remaining stock until the rice is tender (This usually takes me around 25 minutes).
- When the rice is tender to your liking, remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the basil and the parmesan cheese.
- Serve immediately with a green salad if desired.
Cooking Tips
- Left over risotto is OK reheated the next day however nothing beats fresh risotto served immediately.
- The amount of stock needed for cooking risotto will vary according to the cooking temperature and the saucepan size.
- Always use Arborio rice when cooking a risotto.
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