Bacon & Egg Risotto

My whole family loves risotto, whether it's made with seafood, veggies or just plain as a side dish. So when Sathya and Liz over at The Baker and the Curry Maker threw down the gauntlet for a risotto relay, the game was on!

I knew all of those gourmet cooks out there would come up with exciting and exotic combinations for their risotto. The problem is, I'm just a Mom cooking for her family, far from being a gourmet. So I opted to just go with what I knew my kids would like.

Breakfast is my absolute favorite meal of the day, so it only seemed fitting that I try to combine the two and make a breakfast risotto with bacon and eggs. I considered setting poached egg atop of the risotto, but I didn't feel that the rice would take on the egg taste that I imagined. I also considered adding some fresh tomatoes to the risotto, but I thought the tomatoes just might overpower the subtle egg.

So here it is, for better or worse: Breakfast Risotto

Cheers,

Chef Mom


Bacon and Egg Risotto

2 cups arborio rice
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
6 slices bacon
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
3 eggs
Salt & Pepper
Fresh salsa for garnish

Slice the bacon slices into 1/2" pieces. In heavy-bottomed pan, cook bacon over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove with slotted spoon and set on paper towels to drain.

Remove all but 4 tbs of the bacon fat from the pan. Add the chopped onion and let it cook until translucent.

Turn heat down to medium and add the arborio rice. Stir well with to coat all of the rice with the bacon fat. Add 1/2 cup of stock. Cook, stirring almost continously until the stock has been absorbed by the rice. Continue in this manner until you come to your last 1/2 cup of stock.

Add the last 1/2 cup of the stock. When it is just about absorbed, stir in the bacon and crack three eggs on top of the risotto. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Let the eggs sit for about one minute (the whites will begin to cook) and then carefully stir into the risotto. This process goes very quickly as the egg will cook immediately.

Remove from heat. Garnish with some fresh salsa or chopped tomatoes and serve.