Bacon Risotto

Ingredients:

• 250 g risotto rice
• 1 finely chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic finely chopped
• Olive oil
• 100 - 150 g bacon, chopped
• Chicken or beef stock cube
• 500 ml hot water (added gradually)
• Parmesan cheese
• 1 tspn dried Italian herbs
• Salt & pepper

• 1 bay leaf
• 150 g sliced spicy chorizo sausage & 2 diced chicken breasts are a very delicious option (instead of bacon). This gourmet tip comes from D. Best, one of the two members of the insufferable, self-styled 'Risotto Club' that denied me membership. They were like cooking-Nazis.

• or chopped vegetables of choice: mushrooms, chopped pepper, sweet potato

Instructions:

Add bacon. Cook for 1 minute.

Add rice. Coat rice with mixture.

Add stock cube (crumbled) and half the water. Add bay leaf, salt and pepper, herbs. Mix through.

Cover and simmer on very low heat. Don't be tempted to look too often. The steam is cooking the rice. Frequently looking only slows everything down.

Check after 5 minutes and add remainder of water. If you are adding vegetables, add them at them now.

At 15 minutes, do one final check and add additional hot water only if rice isn't cooked through.

If too much water remains, remove lid and cook until excess water has boiled off. This is not supposed to look like rice soup.

Serve with: