The only Risotto you’ll ever make

Hey there!

I have no idea what to write for this post. What can I say about risotto? I imagine there are a lot of recipes for risotto, and you might even have a trusty one that you make on the regular. I was looking for a risotto recipe for a while, and came across one on Pinterest that looked yummy. So I went to the shop, bought all the ingredients, and tested it. If I tell you I couldn’t even finish one small plate of the stuff… I found the recipe complicated, and there was SO. MUCH. BUTTER. I had no idea what I was doing. So I just forgot all about making a risotto at home, hoped to come across an acceptable version in a restaurant and made my peace with it.

Until…

Since I already had the risotto rice (arborio) at home, I thought, no harm in trying some more recipes and maybe I’ll find one that I like! And so I came across another recipe, but it needed a little something else… I made some tweaks, added a few things, and… Here’s my recipe for a fabulous (and rather unfussy) mushroom and bacon risotto!

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 fat garlic cloves, minced
• 160 g arborio rice
• 100 g bacon lardons (I prefer smoked but use whichever you prefer)
• 250 g chestnut mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 15 ml/1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• Parsley, chopped for garnish
• 700 ml of water, boiled
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

• Boil a kettle
• Drizzle a little olive oil on a large frying pan. When it’s hot, add the bacon lardons and cook for a few minutes until golden and crispy. Reserve on a plate with the bacon grease.
• Return the pan to medium heat with another drizzle of olive oil. When hot, add the onion, garlic and mushrooms, add some freshly ground pepper, and cook for a few minutes until soft.
• Meanwhile, dissolve the stock cube in the boiled water.
• Once the vegetables have softened, add the rice and the rice vinegar, and stir for 1 minute or until the vinegar has evaporated.
• Add the vegetable stock to the pan. You could either add all the liquid at once, or add bit by bit until it has absorbed. Stir frequently to release the starches in the rice. Overall, this process should take you about 25 to 30 minutes.
• Once the risotto is done (but not too dry!), add the bacon lardons and the parsley and mix everything together. Check for salt and pepper and serve!

Fortunately I remembered to take a photo before I started eating! Here’s what my risotto looked like:

And that’s it. It takes a bit of time, but most of it is just waiting for the stock to absorb and stirring once in a while. You can have a cup of tea while you wait!

I hope you like this recipe. Now it’s your turn – please let me know in the comments if you’ve tried it, what you thought, and maybe even send a picture of your risotto!

Happy cooking!