Make this easy dish even easier by using frozen peas and broccoli
Ensure your rice is cooked properly: the rice grain should still have a little bite to it, but shouldn’t be hard or gluggy. White wine is added for flavour, but you can leave this out if you prefer.
Serves 4 Prep 10 mins Cook 25 mins
1 litre good-quality chicken or vegetable stock
1-2 tbsp olive oil 200g rindless back bacon, roughly chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
250g risotto rice, such as arborio or carnaroli
125ml white wine (optional)
300g broccoli, cut into small florets
155g peas
35g finely grated parmesan
10g butter (optional) baby Cos lettuce, leaves roughly
chopped (optional)
250g cherry tomatoes, quartered (optional)
1 Bring the stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan, cover and keep at a gentle simmer. Meanwhile, heat 2 tsp oil in a large deep frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook for 3- 4 mins until it has released its fat and is golden on both sides. Transfer half the bacon from the pan to some kitchen paper, leaving any oil in the pan.
2 Reduce the heat to medium, add the onion and garlic to the pan, use a little extra oil if necessary, and fry for 5 mins until softened. Add the rice and stir for about 30 seconds to coat it in the onion mix. Add the wine (if using) and cook for 1 min, scraping the base of the pan to dislodge any crusty bits. Season with salt and pepper.
3 Add the stock, two ladlefuls at a time. After each addition, stir a couple of times, then leave to cook uncovered. Once the stock has been absorbed, add the next two ladlefuls of stock and stir. Continue in this way until the rice is tender – this will take about 20 mins. If the stock is used up before the rice is tender, add a little extra water.
4 While the rice is cooking, bring a medium saucepan of water to the boil and cook the broccoli for 2 mins. Add the peas and cook for a further minute. Drain well.
5 Once the rice is just cooked – it should be tender but still have a little bite to it – stir in the broccoli, peas, the reserved bacon, half the parmesan and the butter (if using). Remove the pan from the heat, cover with a lid and leave it to sit for 2 mins. Serve the risotto scattered with the remaining parmesan, the chopped cos lettuce and the quartered cherry tomatoes.