Broad bean & bacon risotto

Broad bean & bacon risotto

A special, seasonal risotto to bring a touch of Italian sunshine to early summer

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Ready in 1 hour

Method

  1. Heat the stock in a pan and add the broad beans, cook for 3 minutes then scoop them out.
  2. Melt a large knob of butter in a large pan and fry the onion and bacon for about 5 minutes until the onion is tender, add the garlic and cook for a minute. Stir in the rice, coating every grain in butter. Add the wine and stir until it has been absorbed, then add the stock a ladleful at a time, stirring until it has been absorbed but so that the risotto is still wet enough to just hold its shape. Season. Stir in another knob of butter and half of the broad beans.
  3. Spoon the risotto into bowls and top with more broad beans and pecorino.

Per serving

683 kcalories, protein 39.5g, carbohydrate 72.2g, fat 26.9 g, saturated fat 12.1g, fibre 8.5g, salt 4.31 g

Recipe from olive magazine, June 2008.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 1-20

  • 12 May 2008

    ilovefood commented on this recipe

    what's plodding?

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  • 08 June 2008

    Kate rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I use smoked bacon for added flavour. So simple but delicious.

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  • 19 June 2008

    chillihaha commented on this recipe

    "Double podding" (not plodding ! get your glasses on !)...I assme this means pod the beans then skin them.

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  • 19 June 2008

    phlebo20 commented on this recipe

    ..............................

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  • 26 June 2008

    Nicky S commented on this recipe

    Just cooked this tonight - my first ever risotto and my husband's comment was 'brilliant' - can't get better than that!! A tasty meal and perfect consistency :)

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  • 26 June 2008

    Nicky S rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    forgot to rate it! 5 star!

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  • 09 August 2008

    Lisa rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Absolutely lovely, and very simple to make - no seasoning required as the bacon covers it.

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  • 19 August 2008

    nellyj rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Lovely!! Have made this a few times now - even the little ones like it (AND eat the beans - now thats a winner!) I use the ready prepped 'gammon bits' from the supermarket and (dare I admit) after the wine, just pour all the stock in and let it get on with it-still tastes delicious!Thank you Good Food.

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  • 20 December 2008

    messyrandy commented on this recipe

    I have got my boyfriend to eat broad beans - hooray!

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  • 09 May 2009

    Jess rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • 15 June 2009

    Ali Campbell commented on this recipe

    Wonderful. A deliciously creamy & morrish Risotto. Recipe was a little confusing but got the hang of it in the end e.g. adding the stock ladle by ladle till it absorbed then adding another ladle which took some time to do but worth it. Would have helped to say this process takes about 25 to 30 minutes and needs to be constantly stirred to stop mixture sticking.

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  • 28 June 2009

    Rebecca rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • 11 August 2009

    green_honey_bee rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    So delicious! I took the left overs to work with a salad, and made all my colleagues jealous!

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  • 15 June 2010

    Sarah commented on this recipe

    Absolutely gorgeous and really easy too

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  • 15 June 2010

    James rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This recipe assumes an amount of experience. If you have never made a risotto before I recommend reading e.g. Marcella Hazan for complete instructions on the method. You will not create a lovely creamy risotto unless you stir it continuously and quite vigorously as you add the stock for the whole cooking time of 20 minutes or so. Use a big pan with high sides to stop it going everywhere. Don't overcook the rice. Double podding the broad beans means that after stage 1 of this method you should tip the beans into a bowl of cold water, and then pop the beans out of their skins. When calculating quantities, they lose about 30% of their weight during this process. All this means this although this is a simple recipe it is not quick to make. I may do it again, I just love risotto, but I was not completely happy with its flavour, which was a bit aneamic, and look, it came out with a slightly pink cast. Do broad bean skins contain dye? But it was only my first attempt.

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  • Binder photo pen

    18 June 2010

    pen rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    Double podding beans is a seriously dreary past time, and I thought the end results were edible but a long way from delicious. I thought this was pretty tasteless and boring.

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  • 19 June 2010

    Scrumptious Sally rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    Thanks in advance to the first supermarket who starts to sell broad beans which have already been double-podded. The most boring kitchen chore ever, which I only remembered after starting to make this. Nice combination of flavours, but I think I'll use peas and pancetta in the future: less fuss & more flavour.

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  • 23 June 2010

    Iain Chambers commented on this recipe

    The trick with double podding broad beans is to do it in advance of making the risotto, then pop them in the fridge or freezer. You can pod whilst watching TV, or sit in the garden, or get friends or kids involved. But if you want to, you can buy frozen double podded broad beans. Blandness may come from beans that are not fresh enough or dull stock. Good risotto results from the best ingredients, so use good butter and/or olive oil, good stock (I would use chicken here), and definitely good bacon - that cheap Danish stuff won't work in risotto.

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  • 29 July 2010

    KatyCooks rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Well, despite making a daft mistake and forgetting to add the rice before the wine, this still came out extremely well. I think, reading the mixed reviews here, it is as good as the ingredients you use and I was lucky enough to have some stunning smoked bacon and good chicken stock available. I was also fortunate in only needing to pod enough broad beans for one serving so it didn't take too long. It's not something to make for a family meal after a tough day at work, but it is very tasty and not complicated, so it's well worth the effort when you have enough time and the right ingredients to hand.

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  • 28 December 2010

    Pelupi rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    Used pancetta and was lovely. Not normally a broad bean fan but they worked well in this

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Ready in 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 1½l chicken or vegetable stock
  • 400g broad beans , after double podding. (you'll need about 2kg to start)
  • 50g butter
  • 1 onion , finely chopped
  • 8 rashers bacon , about 200g , finely sliced
  • 1 garlic clove , crushed
  • 300g risotto rice
  • 1 glass white wine
  • pecorino shaved or grated, to serve
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Per serving

683 kcalories, protein 39.5g, carbohydrate 72.2g, fat 26.9 g, saturated fat 12.1g, fibre 8.5g, salt 4.31 g

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