Sunday 20 May 2012

Courgette and Bacon Risotto


Preparation Time:

Less than 30 min

Cooking Time:

30 - 40 min 

Serves 4







Ingredients:

500 g courgettes
1 pack rindless back bacon
60 g butter
1 Ts Olive Oil
1.2 l Chicken Stock
1 diced red onion
6 thin slices parmesan cheese
225 g risotto rice
150ml white wine
2 Ts chopped parsley
pepper to taste

Recipe:

Start by washing, topping and tailing the courgettes. Set about 1/3 aside to be grated and dice the remaining 2/3.

Start with half the butter in the pan as well as the olive oil to fry the diced courgettes. Be sure to cook on a high heat until they are tender and dotted with brown.

While you are frying the courgettes you can start getting the stock ready. I find the best way to prepare this amount of stock is to place all the stock powder into a measuring jug and then add a small amount of cold water, this will allow you to mix it into a paste so as not to get any lumps. Once you have got your paste add the remaining 1.2 l of boiling water. Once you have your stock, place it into a separate pot and bring to the boil. Once it is boiling, turn down the plate and allow it to bubble away at a moderate simmer.

Once the courgettes are ready you can place them to one side and in the remaining pan fry the bacon. I personally prefer to cook until crispy as i feel it gives off more flavour as well as adds a bit of texture to such a "soft" dish. About half way through this process you can add the remaining butter, chopped onion and parmesan shavings. Onion should be cooked until glassy.

The next step is to add all the rice. Fry for about a min and then add the wine and parsley, continue frying until the wine has evaporated. Then you can begin the process of adding the stock.

When adding the stock, only add one ladle at a time. Once the stock has seemed to evaporated, add another. Repeat this process until the rice is al dente. If you run out of stock before such time then simply add water. 

Now that the rice is cooked add the grated courgette and fry for a further 2 min. 

Serve Immediately.