Yield: 4 – 6 Servings
Ingredients
- 4 slices of bacon, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 2 cups of Arborio rice
- 1 cup of any red wine
- 8 cups of chicken broth
- 1 cup of blue cheese like Gorgonzola
- 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, chopped
Method
- Lightly simmer the chicken broth in one pot as you make the risotto in another pot.
- In a saucepan over medium-high heat crisp the bacon, remove and set aside. Add the onions and garlic to the pan drippings and quickly sauté until fragrant, a few minutes. Add the rice and continue to cook and stir over medium high heat, coating the grains evenly with the oil, until the rice grains give off a toasty aroma and transform from pure white to almost entirely opaque.
- Splash in the red wine and stir frequently as the rice quickly absorbs the liquid. Reduce your heat to low. Start adding the hot chicken stock in several additions, stirring frequently after each one and allowing the rice to absorb the broth. Continue to cook and stir the risotto until the rice is just tender or al dente (soft with an ever so slight bite to the center) and creamy. The Arborio rice will gradually release its starch and thicken the extra liquid into creaminess. Creamy is important if you’re going for authenticity! This will take about 20 minutes from when you start adding the liquid.
- Finish by stirring in the blue cheese and fresh rosemary. While the risotto is still piping hot, serve and share!