A Summer Stunner
This risotto is the perfect summer comfort food, featuring the smoky richness of bacon, the freshness of peas, and the brightness of lemon zest.
Not only is this recipe a crowd pleaser, beyond simple to make and super quick it is delicious but also nourishing.
As home cooks “levelling up” what we cook at home is really important for our wellbeing. We need to have lots of little hacks to add more flavour without relying on sugar, salt and fat and we also have to create tasty but nutrient dense versions of our favourite dishes.
I just made a few small tweaks to this recipe. I removed the wine, we don’t need it in here. I added pops of vibrant and deep flavour with Dijon mustard ( and I even feel you could add more ), parmesan cheese and lemon zest. I use lemon zest only as I feel the juice is overpowering.
Using a chicken bone broth like the Sadie’s Kitchen one is a super upgrade to make this risotto more nourishing.
Another great little hack is to replace 100g of the arborio rice with wholegrain rice. You do loose a little of the creamy texture but you are gaining the addition of a wholegrain. The easiest way to up your fibre content with a recipe like this is to enjoy a moderate portion of the risotto and serve it with a side of steamed tender stem broccoli or a big bright rocket salad.
I hope you love this as much as I do.
Smoked Bacon, Pea & Lemon Risotto
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 300 g Arborio rice
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 100 g smoked bacon diced
- 1.2 litres of chicken bone broth/ stock
- 150 g frozen peas
- 1.5 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 75 g grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 lemon zest only
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Method
- Heat the chicken stock in a saucepan and keep it on low heat to keep it warm.
- In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced bacon and cook until crispy, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- In the same pan, add the chopped onion and garlic and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the Arborio rice to the pan and stir to coat the grains in the oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the rice is slightly toasted.
- Begin adding the warm chicken stock to the rice, one ladleful at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next.
- After about 15 minutes, add the frozen peas to the pan and continue to add the stock and stir for another 5-10 minutes until the rice is cooked but still al dente.
- Stir in the Dijon mustard, grated Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, and juice, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve the risotto in bowls and top with the crispy bacon pieces.
