This week I had an old friend over for dinner. This is someone I grew up with, someone whom I explored the trappings of village adolescence with; smoking in the village park, deceiving our parents with stories of sleepovers whilst tearing up the midnight streets of Leeds, more than a little experimentation. We’ve both now grown up in different ways and it’s funny how many changes the years can bring, while at the same time so few. And although they might have snatched our mutual loves of ‘wobbly, jackin’ house music’ (indeed, nowadays all that wobbles with me are my jellies and ever growing lumbars), still our love of blue cheese remains, transcendent of the summers & winters apart.
That evening I cooked this dish: a risotto of pea, bacon & blue cheese with a poached egg. Creamy Gorgonzola with its acidic bite, sweet pea, salty bacon, rich egg. Healthy sprinklings of Parmesan. For me, risotto in hand, wine glass in the other and old childhood friend gabbing away on the sofa, life doesn’t get much sweeter.
That evening I cooked this dish: a risotto of pea, bacon & blue cheese with a poached egg. Creamy Gorgonzola with its acidic bite, sweet pea, salty bacon, rich egg. Healthy sprinklings of Parmesan. For me, risotto in hand, wine glass in the other and old childhood friend gabbing away on the sofa, life doesn’t get much sweeter.
Recipe
Ingredients (Serves 2):
2 handfuls Arborio risotto rice (approx. 1 per person)
butter
6 rashers unsmoked bacon, chopped roughly
2 handfuls of peas, frozen are fine
glug of white wine
approx. 800ml chicken stock
125g Gorgonzola, chopped into chunks
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small white onion, diced
vegetable oil
salt/pepper
lemon juice
Required: cling film
Ingredients (Serves 2):
2 handfuls Arborio risotto rice (approx. 1 per person)
butter
6 rashers unsmoked bacon, chopped roughly
2 handfuls of peas, frozen are fine
glug of white wine
approx. 800ml chicken stock
125g Gorgonzola, chopped into chunks
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small white onion, diced
vegetable oil
salt/pepper
lemon juice
Required: cling film
Method:
1. Heat some oil in a large saucepan on medium heat and gently saute the onion for 3-4 minutes, until soft, not coloured. Add the garlic and saute for another minute. Then add in the risotto rice, a knob of butter and saute, continuously stirring until the risotto rice is lightly fried and translucent, about 2 minutes. Make sure it is always kept wet by the butter and oil and always keep moving it. You don’t want it to get any colour or burn.
2. Add in a good glug of white wine and leave to bubble so that the alcohol burns off. Stir. Add in a glug of the chicken stock and stir continuously for a minute or so, until the stock has all been absorbed. Add another glug of stock and repeat. Repeat this continuously, always stirring – it is this that gives risotto its desired creaminess. Do this until the risotto rice is soft, cooked through but still with a tiny bit of bite. At this point stop adding the stock – you don’t want it to be too liquidy. You might not need to use all the stock -you might even need more – it isn’t an exact art, judge when it is done by the rice.
3. While you are doing this, fry off your bacon in a separate pan until crispy. Set a pan of water on to boil.
4. For the poached eggs: Take a large square of cling film and lay over a teacup. Poke the clingfilm a little bit inside the cup so there is a bit of a dip, where you can crack an egg into. Oil the clingfilm with some vegetable oil. Crack an egg into it. Gather the sides of the cling film up, squeezing out any air and twist to make a little egg parcel!! Do this for all your eggs. 3 minutes before your risotto is ready, place into boiling water and poach like that for 3 minutes. By doing it this way you can cook all your eggs at the same time, they are a consistent shape and cook the same way every time. It is foolproof.
5. When the risotto rice is nearly done, tip in the bacon and peas and stir in to combine. Scrape in all the bacon oil and scraps & swirl the pan with stock to wash out all that lovely pork, salty flavour and tip in.
6. Once the rice is cooked, turn the heat off, stir in a large knob of butter to add final richness and shine, gently fold in your Gorgonzola and season with salt (you won’t need much – the bacon and cheese are salty enough), pepper and fresh lemon juice. Plate. Remove your eggs from the clingfilm. Place on top of your risotto, season with a little bit of salt. Grate Parmesan over the whole thing. Serve.
1. Heat some oil in a large saucepan on medium heat and gently saute the onion for 3-4 minutes, until soft, not coloured. Add the garlic and saute for another minute. Then add in the risotto rice, a knob of butter and saute, continuously stirring until the risotto rice is lightly fried and translucent, about 2 minutes. Make sure it is always kept wet by the butter and oil and always keep moving it. You don’t want it to get any colour or burn.
2. Add in a good glug of white wine and leave to bubble so that the alcohol burns off. Stir. Add in a glug of the chicken stock and stir continuously for a minute or so, until the stock has all been absorbed. Add another glug of stock and repeat. Repeat this continuously, always stirring – it is this that gives risotto its desired creaminess. Do this until the risotto rice is soft, cooked through but still with a tiny bit of bite. At this point stop adding the stock – you don’t want it to be too liquidy. You might not need to use all the stock -you might even need more – it isn’t an exact art, judge when it is done by the rice.
3. While you are doing this, fry off your bacon in a separate pan until crispy. Set a pan of water on to boil.
4. For the poached eggs: Take a large square of cling film and lay over a teacup. Poke the clingfilm a little bit inside the cup so there is a bit of a dip, where you can crack an egg into. Oil the clingfilm with some vegetable oil. Crack an egg into it. Gather the sides of the cling film up, squeezing out any air and twist to make a little egg parcel!! Do this for all your eggs. 3 minutes before your risotto is ready, place into boiling water and poach like that for 3 minutes. By doing it this way you can cook all your eggs at the same time, they are a consistent shape and cook the same way every time. It is foolproof.
5. When the risotto rice is nearly done, tip in the bacon and peas and stir in to combine. Scrape in all the bacon oil and scraps & swirl the pan with stock to wash out all that lovely pork, salty flavour and tip in.
6. Once the rice is cooked, turn the heat off, stir in a large knob of butter to add final richness and shine, gently fold in your Gorgonzola and season with salt (you won’t need much – the bacon and cheese are salty enough), pepper and fresh lemon juice. Plate. Remove your eggs from the clingfilm. Place on top of your risotto, season with a little bit of salt. Grate Parmesan over the whole thing. Serve.
Yum
