Haalo is hosting this edition of Weekend Herb Blogging and being a huge fan of her blog I had to participate.
I adapted a recipe, using zucchini instead of pumpkin - it was delicious!
It was my first baked risotto and I must confess that while placing the ingredients together in the bowl I still wasn’t convinced it was going to work. I was so wrong: by the time I finished preparing Joao’s beef and potatoes my risotto was ready and all I had to do was stir it a bit to make it creamy.
I highly recommend this recipe and I think that many other vegetables would replace zucchini wonderfully here.
Baked zucchini and bacon risotto
adapted from Off The Shelf: Cooking From the Pantry
440g (2 cups) Arborio or carnaroli rice
1,250ml (5 cups) chicken or vegetable stock – I used vegetable
60g butter
500g zucchini, diced
12 rashers of bacon
75g (¾ cup) finely grated parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF. Place the rice, stock, butter and zucchini in an ovenproof dish, mix and cover tightly with a lid or foil. Bake for 30 minutes or until the rice is soft – the risotto will be quite liquid.*
While the risotto is cooking, place the bacon under a hot grill (broiler) and cook for 2 minutes on each side or until crisp – I placed the rashers between sheets of paper towel and cooked in the microwave oven for 1 minute. Set aside.
Remove the risotto from the oven, add the salt, pepper, parmesan and parsley and stir constantly for 2 minutes to thicken it.
To serve, place in serving bowls and top with bacon.
* I used foil to cover the bowl and my risotto wasn’t that liquid – I cooked it for the exact time.
Serves 2 – I halved the recipe and got loads of risotto (that will be transformed in arancini). In my opinion, 1 recipe serves 3-4.
The combination of zucchini and rissotto is new to me. But I trust you that it tastes good! :D
ReplyDeletePat, I have tried oven risottos a couple of times and was happily surprised with the result despite my sceptcism at first. This DH book was my first one and I really like it. I used it heavily before I went to buy others. Good choice of recipe.
ReplyDeleteI have this Donna Hay book, and it's a great source of inspiration. Baked risotto sounds wonderful and easy!
ReplyDeleteMmmm bacon... you've sold me on this recipe!
ReplyDeleteOh my god, I think I'd crumble up the bacon so I could mix it into the risotto... Yumyum!
ReplyDeleteLooks pretty darn good. I've always thought that risotto would be so difficult to make (perhaps it's after seeing so many waiters in Italian restaurants bring the massive wheel of cheese to our table with the risotto in it that intimidated me, I'm not sure...) but this looks pretty straightforward. I think I'll give it a try, soon.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, do you and your husband eat different things? Just curious. Mine eats whatever - and I mean, WHATEVER - is put in front of him. Cheers!
Another yummy risotto dish of yours Pat!
ReplyDeleteDo you not need to brown the risotto first like you usually do? Your method of cooking sounds really great!
That sounds like a wonderful risotto technique that I should have a go with! I'm wondering about sweet potato with a touch of lemon and bacon! That looks like a dish with endless possibilites.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this way with risotto! This would be great if you need your hands free to make another dish! :)
ReplyDeleteBacon...the great yummifier!
Hi Patricia - oh my - I just LOVE a freshly made risotto, and your version looks amazing! I've never tried using carnaroli rice before - I'll have to keep a look out for it!
ReplyDeleteYum, yum and yum!
ReplyDeleteI have never seen a recipe for baked risotto before -- that's a great idea! Saves all that time sweating over a hot stove, not to mention the stain on the elbows! Looks delicious, Patricia!
ReplyDeleteAnh, thank you, sweetie. It was my first zucchini risotto, too. I thought that if it worked with pumpkin, why not try with zucchini?? I'm glad I tried it.
ReplyDeleteTina, all those ingredients mixed in a bowl and thrown in the oven... I wasn't believing it much. But I'm glad I tried it, it worked wonderfully. That book is really great and I must thank you for "introducing" me to it!
Lydia, I agree - it's a great book and I intend to make many other recipes from it.
Brilynn, I'm crazy about bacon too, dear!
Ellie, that what I did after taking the photo. ;)
Mari, thank you! Even the risotto you make on top of the stove is not difficult - it's just a bit tiring to keep stirring something for 20 minutes. I guess that if you think risottos are difficult to make this recipe is THE one for you, sweetie!
Joao is crazy about beef and I don't eat red meat. He's pretty picky, too. So I'm always preparing different food for us.
When I was single, I lived with my father and I cooked - he's pretty much like your husband, it was a great joy to cook for him! :)
Valentina, there's no need to brown the ingredients, here - and there's no onions, either. You just mix it all up and bake it.
Tanna, I love this technique too! And the combination of flavors you suggest sounds delicious!
Joey, my thoughts exactly! I could spend some more time on Joao's dish since it was a recipe that envolved 3 different steps.
Gilly, me too, dear! To me, nothing beats risotto. It was my first time using carnaroli, I'd always used arborio.
Freya, thank you, sweetie! xoxo
T.W., I'm with you - and what about preparing this for guests?? You just place the bowl in the oven and go chat with your friends. Perfect!
oh wow! your risotto looks amazing! So creamy! I thought I was full from my lunch, but I guess not because now I am craving this risotto. =)
ReplyDeleteYum! Another creamy, delicious risotto recipe to add to my collection. You never can have too many, right? :)
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. I haven't seen this method of making risotto. Sounds easy and tasty both.
ReplyDeletePatricia, that sounds like a keeper. I will have to try that. Thanks for pointing out this post to me.
ReplyDeleteHi Patricia - I just made this (still eating as I type), and it's wonderful. My husband added some green chili salsa on top of his, and he's already talking about leftovers for lunch!
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI read your recipe and I wonder if it can be adapted to a hearts of palm baked risotto. If so, could you help me with the quantities of heart of palm?
Thanks
Hey Georgia,
ReplyDeleteThere's a recipe for hearts of palm risotto here on the blog, that might give you an idea of how much of the ingredient to use.
Cheers,