I was looking at my blog stats the other day, and I was surprised to see that one of the most popular searches bringing people here is for prawn and asparagus risotto. Here’s a much heartier, wintery risotto that I hope you’ll really enjoy; it has the advantage of being fairly cheap, and leeks are so delicious at the moment. Let me know if you try it.
Serves 2
1 onion, finely diced
1 stick celery, finely chopped
1 large leek, finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
120g risotto rice (I like carnaroli)
1 glass white wine
500ml vegetable stock
4 rashers smoked back bacon, sliced (I like sweetcure)
30g grated parmesan
salt and pepper
Melt the butter and the olive oil in a large non stick pan. Stir in the onion, celery and leek and allow to sweat down for five minutes. Add the bacon, and continue to stir occasionally until the vegetables are soft and the bacon opaque.
Stir in the risotto rice and keep stirring for a minute, till it begins to look a little pearly. Add the glass of white wine, stirring until the rice has absorbed all the liquid.
Stir in the stock a ladle at a time, using the same method, adding more as it is absorbed. Once you’ve added about 400ml, check the rice – if it is not yet soft, add further stock as needed. When the rice is soft and the liquid is all absorbed, stir in the grated parmesan and heat through. Season to taste.
You can omit the bacon and add a second leek and a little more parmesan to make this vegetarian, if you wish. It’s delicious either way.
this looks delicious!! yum
Let me know if you try it!