A tasty one-pot wonder.
Who doesn’t love a good risotto?! It’s nourishing, super tasty, easy to make and minimal dishes as it’s all cooked in the one pot/pan. I used to always make Chicken, Leek and Mushroom Risotto which is one of my staple recipes. It’s packed with vegetables and the family loves it. But, I don’t always have leeks on hand. Same with mushrooms as they can be expensive, or the ones in the fridge are a little too soft. That’s when I decided to branch out and make a different type of risotto. Now Bacon & Asparagus Risotto is a firm family favourite.
While I have the staple recipes I make, I also love to improvise. I love to experiment when cooking. I don’t like predictability when it comes to food. Plus the family love that dinner time is a bit of an adventure. This one time I had several bunches of asparagus in the fridge. They were on special, I think two bunches for $3. Regardless, it was worth buying them. I decided to take my base recipe for risotto and change it up to suit the ingredients I had. The end result was fabulous. This bacon and asparagus risotto is lighter in flavour. The bacon adds extra saltiness which is why the recipe calls for less chicken stock and added water to lighten the salt up.
When it comes to asparagus, I prefer the thin ones. Often I’m rummaging through the bunches available to find the one bunch with thin spears inside. I find the thick ones too woody and difficult to eat. The thin ones are more tender with more flavour. Regardless of thickness, all asparagus need the stem to be snapped off. If you bend the spear at the bottom, it will naturally snap where it isn’t woody anymore. Use the snapped spear to then measure and trim the other spears to the same length.
Want another delicious recipe?
If you like this recipe, you’ll also love others available here. From pastas to risottos, cookies to desserts, and bliss balls to gluten-free options with everything in between. There is truly something here for everyone. I have developed this website to provide family-friendly recipes where I maximise both fresh produce while minimising cost.
Bacon & Asparagus Risotto
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 5 cloves garlic, crushed
- 250 g bacon, rindless and finely diced
- 2 bunches asparagus, tough ends snapped off, with rest thinly sliced
- 1 1/3 cups arborio rice
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 750 ml chicken stock
- 250 ml water
- 1/4 cup cream
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
- In a large frying pan add oil, bacon, onion and garlic. Gently sauté over medium-high heat until the onions are cooked but not coloured.
- Add rice and cook for a further 2 minutes while stirring constantly until rice grains become glossy and lightly toasted. The rice might stick a little to the bottom of the pan and that's fine, just use a wooden spoon to unstick them as much as possible.
- Turn the heat down to low-medium so that when liquid is added it is still gently bubbling. Add 1 cup of the chicken stock, stir to mix together and let simmer until it almost fully absorbed - approximately 5 minutes. Then repeat with remaining chicken stock, stir and let simmer until almost absorbed. Repeat with water and wine combined until the rice almost absorbs all liquid. You can constantly stir through this process if you prefer but I tend to take a shortcut and not do this, only when liquid is added.
- Add asparagus and parsley, mix through. Cook a further 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat. Add the cream and parmesan cheese, mix together and let sit for about 2-5 minutes until mixture thickens.
- Serve hot with a fresh leafy green side salad.
Notes
- If you want to add extra vegetables into this dish, add 120g baby spinach at the end when you add in the cream and parmesan cheese.
- If you taste this risotto and feel it needs a little more wine, add another 1/4 cup at the end with the added asparagus.