Tag: Bacon

Bacon and Courgette Risotto

Here’s a filling, one-pot meal that’s based on a traditional Italian recipe. For perfect tender rice cooked to a creamy consistency, you need to be patient and stir in the hot stock slowly. If you don’t rush this part, you won’t be disappointed.

Serves: 6; Cost: £3; Time to prepare: 15 mins; Time to cook: 25 mins; Cals per portion: 510

Ingredients: 
1 large onion; 2 garlic cloves; 3 bacon chops; 85g (3oz) butter; 500g (1 lb 2oz) risotto rice; 1.7 litres (3pt) hot chicken or vegetable stock; 115g (4oz) mushrooms; 2 large courgettes, grated; 60ml (4 tbsp) fresh chopped chives; 45ml (3 tbsp) fresh chopped parsley; 75g (2 3/4oz) Parmesan cheese, grated; Extra Parmesan for shavings

Method:

  • Peel and chop onion, peel and crush garlic. Trim fat from the bacon chops and discard. Cut bacon into cubes. Heat half the butter in a large pan. Add onion, garlic and bacon and gently fry for 5 mins.
  • Tip in the rice and cook for a couple of mins, stirring so rice grains are coated. Add 300ml (½ pt) hot stock and the mushrooms. Stir frequently, to keep rice grains separate, until the liquid is absorbed.
  • Add a large ladleful of stock, then continue adding small amounts of stock, stirring and waiting until all the liquid has been absorbed before adding more. Repeat until all liquid is finished and the rice tender.
  • Turn off heat when risotto is creamy. Stir in courgettes, chives, parsley, remaining butter and grated Parmesan. Make parmesan shavings using a vegetable peeler. Sprinkle over and serve.

Visit my shop to download this and 9 other Ham, Gammon and Bacon recipes in the Ham, Gammon & Bacon Volume 1 book. A recipe card is also available for download here.

Spaghetti with Bacon and Pesto

How can a dish be healthy when it contains bacon, hard cheese and oil?  Easy!  It’s all about buying wisely and getting your proportions right.  This dish is healthy because it’s full of complex carbohydrates, fibre and mono-unsaturated oil.  Don’t always avoid oil – it’s good for you.

Serves: 4;    Cals per portion:  520; Total fat port portion:  21g

Ingredients:
Pesto:  4 cloves garlic, peeled; 25g (1oz) fresh, roughly chopped basil; 75g (3 oz) Parmesan cheese, grated; 4 medium tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and chopped; 40ml (3 tbsp) olive oil.

Spaghetti and Sauce:
300g (11oz) dried spaghetti; Salt; 100g (3 ½oz) broccoli broken into small florets; 50g (2oz) frozen petits pois; 5ml (1tsp) corn oil; 150g (5 1/2 oz) low-salt, extra-lean back bacon, de-rinded and cut into strips; 8 cherry tomatoes halved; fresh basil leaves to garnish

Method:

  • Make the pesto first by pounding all the ingredients together with a pestle and mortar until you have a thick paste.
  • Cook the spaghetti in a large saucepan of lightly salted, boiling water for 8-10 mins or until just tender.  Meanwhile put the broccoli and petits pois in a small quantity of water, and steam for 2-3 mins.  Drain and keep warm.
  • Brush the base of a non-stick frying pan with the corn oil and add the strips of bacon and the halved cherry tomatoes.  Slowly heat the frying pan and stir once or twice until the bacon is crisp and the tomatoes are cooked.
  • Drain the spaghetti and tip it into a serving bowl.  Pour the pesto over the top of the spaghetti and add the bacon and vegetables and stir.  Garnish with basil leaves and serve.

Visit my shop to download this and 9 other Ham, Gammon and Bacon recipes in the Ham, Gammon & Bacon Volume 1 book. A recipe card is also available for download here.