Bacon & Pea Risotto

I do love a good risotto. I have never made one before - for some reason I had always though they were really complicated to make, but this recipe by Mary Cadogan proved me wrong.

Ingredients
1 onion
6 rashers streaky bacon , chopped
300g risotto rice
1l hot vegetable stock
100g frozen peas

Finely chop the onion. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a knob of butter in a pan, add the onions and fry until lightly browned (about 7 minutes). Add the bacon and fry for a further 5 minutes, until it starts to crisp.

Add the rice and stock, and bring to the boil. Stir well, then reduce the heat and cook, covered, for 15-20 minutes until the rice is almost tender.

Stir in the peas, add a little salt and pepper and cook for a further 3 minutes, until the peas are cooked. Serve sprinkled with freshly grated parmesan and freshly ground black pepper.


It was really easy to make - the fact it uses only 5 ingredients added to the simplicity, and there wasn't really much to do - just chop a couple of things up then leave it to do it's stuff.

The result is a mixed bag. I thought it was really nice. I didn't love it, but it was nice. Jack thought it didn't taste of much and was a bit samey - but then I guess risotto is a bit samey. Louis had one mouthful and refused to have any more. This could have been due to the tonne of grated cheddar he'd dumped on the top. So, not such a huge success, but I'm happy because it means I have some lunch to take to work with me tomorrow! I would make it again for myself, but I think I'll try out a couple of other recipes in the meantime.