Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Caramelized Onion Risotto with Bacon

Caramelized Onion Risotto with Bacon


Have I backed myself into a corner?

The morning I prepared this dish, I noted on my facebook timeline that I was trying to adapt this risotto to the standards appropriate for this publication. My foodie friends inquired: Heidi of Young Grasshopper asked, how could it NOT be blog worthy? Willow of Will Cook for Friends suggested perhaps you could fancy it up by serving it with something else more blog-worthy? I've actually profiled three other risottos in the past and am pretty familiar with the concept, so I needed to find a way to try something new.

I shouldn't be so hard on myself. I've seen seasoned chefs fail at this dish on popular TV shows. (Jyll of the seventh season of The Next Food Network Star, Tre on season 8 of Top Chef, in addition to countless victims...uh, I mean, contestants on Hell's Kitchen come to mind off the top of my head.)

I've been craving risotto over the past few weeks and my wife is trying to get her own food blog started and noted she wanted to learn how, so she bought some arborio rice over this past weekend.

As I was looking through risotto possibilities waiting for a revelation, I noticed a lot of risottos with bacon. This recipe caught my eye because it combined a one of my wife's favorite ingredients of one of my first success as a food blogger: a Barbecued Tri-Tip with Caramelized Red Onions with bacon.

The Challenge

Successfully fuse American flavors into an Italian dish while using a slightly altered risotto method.

The Source

A risotto normally starts out by sweating onions or shallots, adding the rice to toast, deglazing with white wine, before adding the stock and finishing with parmesan and butter. This recipe from Food & Wine Magazine alters this process slightly.

Ingredients

1/2 pound thickly sliced meaty bacon (approximately 8 slices)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 large onions, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
2 quarts chicken stock or low-sodium broth
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups arborio rice
1 teaspoon coarsely chopped thyme
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

1. In a large skillet, cook the bacon over moderate heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain, then crumble.


2. In a large saucepan, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the onions and cook over moderately high heat until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very soft and browned, about 20 minutes. Transfer the onions to a plate. Rinse out the saucepan.


3. Bring the stock to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cover and keep hot over low heat. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the large saucepan. Add the garlic and cook over moderate heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add enough hot stock to cover the rice, about 1 1/2 cups, and stir constantly over moderate heat until the stock has been absorbed. Continue adding stock, about 1 1/2 cups at a time, and cook, stirring, until it has been completely absorbed before adding more. The rice is done when the grains are just tender and the sauce is creamy, about 20 minutes.


4. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the onions, bacon, thyme and 1/2 cup of Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the risotto into bowls and serve with additional Parmesan.

Successful?

No, I haven't backed myself into a corner. My wife enjoyed the flavors of the dish because there was nothing left on her plate, however the risotto was a little too stiff for my taste but strangely, still creamy.

25 comments:

  1. Nicely done! Definitely blog worthy. I never would have thought to add bacon to risotto, but the smoky flavor would be perfect!
    And as for texture, I know risottos are supposed to be a little loose, but I actually prefer them on the stiffer side. The recipe looks great! :)

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  2. The flavors sound wonderful in your risotto, caramelized onions and bacon are two of my favorite flavors! Sad you didn't like it that much but I am glad your wife did! I will have to use these flavors as inspiration for when I get around to using the bag of risotto in my pantry!

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  3. Looks delicious! And in my opinion, bacon makes everything taste better ;)

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  4. Oh yes and yes! I need to make this and very soon. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. ohhhhhhhh I am so trying this flavor profile YUMMY!!! Thanks Foodie :)

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  6. Well it looks delicious and I'm sure you are just too critical about your own food. You have been making lots of great dishes. I'm sure it was terrific!

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  7. Wow, looks pretty good to me. I'd finish a bowl full for sure.

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  8. wow, this sounds delicious! i never thought of putting bacon in risotto - genius idea!

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  9. This sounds like a crowd pleaser! Arborio rice is going on my shopping list :)

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  10. This dish looks delicious, love bacon in risotto, I'm sure it was awesome!

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  11. The risotto looks droolworthy. I love anything with caramelized onion.

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  12. I always find risotto to be hard to make, I've made them undercooked and overcooked. Hardly ever just right. I think you did a great job from what it looks like, and the flavours sound amazing! :D

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  13. "Fancy it up?" Sometimes the best recipes are the simplest. Though it's hard to go wrong with caramelized onions and bacon! Sounds delish.

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  14. how delicious! I want to make this soon! We are deep in winter, so risotto is a winner!

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  15. I don't like bacon or a lot of onions but I love risotto and make it often. If it is still too stiff at the end, simply add more liquid and let it cook off again until the rice has the perfect texture.

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  16. Risotto is one of my favorite dishes. This one sounds delicious!

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  17. Bacon improves everything! Great risotto.

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  18. Oooh, yum! I have never tried risotto before, but I'm intrigued. This looks great!

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  19. This looks great! I love bacon and risotto :) Yum!

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  20. Yummy! Looks so delicious.. It's been ages since I ate risotto! Good job here.

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  21. Based on your delicious caramelized onion risotto with bacon photos, we'd like to invite you to submit your food photos on a food photography site called http://www.foodporn.net so our readers can enjoy your creations.
    It is absolutely free and fun to make others hungry!
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  22. No bacon for me! But I still want to make this!!!

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  23. This is fantastic meal! Love bacon in anything, it gives us that lift and flavor! Well done!

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  24. Thanks for a new take on risotto. I'm with you on a slightly slacker consistency, but these are lovely flavours.

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Feedback is always welcomed. If you're going to be critical, be constructive. In other words, be nice.