Bacon and Mushroom Risotto
Bacon and Mushroom Risotto is a flavorful dish made with Arborio rice.
I love risotto. I often order it in fancier restaurants when we go or while traveling. It is almost certainly always good. One of the best ones I have had was a simple mushroom risotto in Barcelona. A few herbs, mushrooms and garnished with parmesan. It was a beautiful dish but not complicated in the slightest. Just perfectly mixed and extra creamy. This told me two things. They used good stock and they stirred it continuously.
The truth is you don’t have to have anything fancy for it to make it delicious. You just have to have a little patience because it is not a let it bubble away type of dish. It is one that will require your attention. Pouring small amounts of stock at a time and stirring will create a creaminess that is worth the extra time in the kitchen.
What You’ll Need To Make Bacon and Mushroom Risotto
1 ½ cups of Arborio Rice
4 ½ cups of good chicken stock
¾ cooking sherry
4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp dried thyme
4 slices of thick cut bacon
1 cup of mushrooms sliced or quartered
2 tbsp of salted butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan to garnish (optional)
Directions
Begin by chopping the bacon and mincing the garlic.
Taking a saucepan pour all the stock in and heat it over a low heat on the side until you need it.
In a dutch oven begin browning the bacon.
After about 2 minutes, add the mushrooms, thyme and a couple cracks of black pepper to the pot.
The idea is to not let the garlic cook too long or it will burn.
Taking a slotted spoon, remove the bacon and mushroom mixture from the pot and set aside.
Add the cooking sherry to deglaze the pan stirring it about to remove any debris on the bottom. Add the rice.
Give it a consistent stir until the wine is absorbed into the rice, once absorbed begin adding your stock a ½ cup at a time. Stir the ½ cup around constantly until it absorbs into the rice and then add another ½ cup of the stock.
You will continue stirring and adding ½ cups of stock until all your stock has been absorbed. At that point your rice should be cooked.
When you are on your last ½ of stock you can dump the bacon and mushroom mixture back into the pot. Your Risotto should be ready once the last bit of stock is absorbed and you should have a creamy consistency.
Add the butter and give it a good stir, and taste. Add any additional salt or pepper you’d like.
Garnish your Risotto with some fresh shredded Parmesan
*Cooking Tip
Keep a pot of warm stock near by to keep it warm and easy to laddle it in.
Risotto has an al dente texture to it but is not crunchy when it’s done.
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you would come back and give it 5 stars!
Bacon and Mushroom Risotto
a creamy blend of arborio rice, mushrooms, bacon and thyme
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 cups of chicken stock
- 3/4 cup of cooking sherry
- 1 1/2 of Arborio rice
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp of dried thyme
- 4 slices of thick cut bacon
- 1 cup of mushrooms (sliced or quartered)
- 2 tbsp butter
- fresh grated parmesean
Instructions
- Taking a saucepan pour all the stock in and heat it over a low heat on the side until you need it.
- In a dutch oven begin browning the bacon.
- After about 2 minutes, add the mushrooms, thyme and a couple cracks of black pepper to the pot.
- Let them cook for a few stirs around the pot then grate your garlic in or you can add it roughly chopped if you like. The idea is to not let the garlic cook too long or it will burn.
- Taking a slotted spoon, remove the bacon and mushroom mixture from the pot and set aside.
- Add the cooking sherry to deglaze the pan stirring it about to remove any debris on the bottom.
- Add the rice.
- Give it a consistent stir until the wine is absorbed into the rice, once absorbed begin adding your stock a ½ cup at a time. Stir the ½ cup around constantly until it absorbs into the rice and then add another ½ cup of the stock.
- You will continue stirring and adding ½ cups of stock until all your stock has been absorbed. At that point your rice should be cooked.
- When you are on your last ½ of stock you can dump the bacon and mushroom mixture back into the pot.
- Your Risotto should be ready once the last bit of stock is absorbed and you should have a creamy consistency.
- Add the butter and give it a good stir, and taste.
- Add any additional salt or pepper you'd like.
- Garnish your Risotto with some fresh shredded Parmesan
Notes
Tools You May Need:
dutch oven
ladle
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 341Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 937mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 2gSugar: 6gProtein: 14g
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