Make this tasty courgette and bacon risotto in mid to late summer when courgettes are in season and you can snap them up cheaply.
Keep the costs down even more by buying cooking bacon. It's the scraps and ends that don't fit into the neat rasher packs, but when it's chopped up in this dish it tastes just as good. This is a great meal if you're cooking for two. It's all in one pot so there's very little to wash up, and you can have it on the table in just over half an hour. Alternatively, if you're cooking for yourself, you can save the leftovers to have as lunch over the following day or two, with a handful of rocket or watercress on the side and a chunk of bread.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
- 60g (2oz) bacon bits
- 125g (4oz) risotto rice
- 450ml (¾ pint) hot vegetable stock
- 1 large courgette, grated
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp mature Cheddar cheese, grated
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
WEIGHT CONVERTER
Method
- Gently heat the olive oil in a large heavy-based pan. Add the onion and cook for 5 mins to soften. Add the garlic and bacon bits and cook for another 5 mins, until they start to brown.
- Tip in the rice and cook, stirring, for 2-3 mins. Pour in 150ml (¼ pint) of the stock, stir and simmer for 5 mins. Then add another 150ml (¼ pint) of stock, stir from time to time until the liquid is absorbed.
- Pour in remaining stock, add the grated courgette, then cook for another few minutes, until the rice is tender and creamy. Remove the pan from heat, add the butter and cheese, and season generously before serving.
Top Tip for making courgette and bacon risotto
Risotto should be cooked only until the rice is al dente - not soft. There should be a little bite to it in the middle still.
You might also like...
- Chicken and bacon risotto recipe (opens in new tab)
- Easy mushroom risotto (opens in new tab)
- Risotto recipes (opens in new tab)
Octavia Lillywhite is an award-winning food and lifestyle journalist with over 15 years of experience. With a passion for creating beautiful, tasty family meals that don’t use hundreds of ingredients or anything you have to source from obscure websites, she’s a champion of local and seasonal foods, using up leftovers and composting, which, she maintains, is probably the most important thing we all can do to protect the environment.
-
Chicken, broccoli and rosemary risotto
This simple chicken, broccoli and rosemary risotto couldn't be easier and the warming flavours make it the perfect comfort food fix
By GoodtoKnow • Published
-
Lemon chicken and pea risotto
This delicious and healthy lemon chicken and pea risotto recipe is so easy to make at home. Plus it will take only 45 mins to prepare and cook
By Octavia Lillywhite • Published
-
Chicken and pea risotto
This delicious chicken and pea risotto is flavoured with thyme, white wine and Parmesan cheese for a rich, creamy dish that all the family will love.
By Octavia Lillywhite • Published
-
Munchies skillet cookie
A gooey, delicious cookie baked in a skillet. A great dessert for sharing with loved ones...
By Jess Meyer • Published
-
Mozzarella and tomato ‘bruschetta’ salad
A filling salad that doesn't shy away from flavour. Perfect as a hearty lunch or light dinner...
By Jess Meyer • Published
-
Coq au vin pie
A warming pie packed with tender chunks of chicken, succulent bacon and a rich red wine gravy...
By Rose Fooks • Published
-
The Queen’s dinner table rule means this everyday essential isn’t ‘allowed’ for her royal relatives
The Queen reportedly prefers a more 'formal' approach to mealtimes and prioritises traditional etiquette with her nearest and nearest...
By Emma Shacklock • Published
-
When does Great British Menu 2023 start?
All you need to know ahead of series 18 of the culinary BBC Two show
By Selina Maycock • Published
-
Royal Family's Christmas dinner menu at Windsor Castle confuses fans
Royal fans have been left baffled by the Christmas dinner menu's unfamiliar language
By Emma Dooney • Published