There’s been a festival of bacon happening in my house this week. It’s the fault of the friends I had dinner with on Saturday, with whom I partook in an overflow of wine and therefore woke with a hangover on Sunday morning. And a craving for bacon. I eventually made it to the shop and made myself a wicked breakfast, at 3pm. But there is only so much bacon I can consume in one sitting and so the bacon has been looking at me from within the fridge, screaming ‘eat me! eat me!’ everytime I open the door. It’s not pleasant. I am forced to make this risotto to use up some of the bacon.

Bacon and Pea Risotto
Makes enough for several people. Or one, with a large appetite, plus leftovers.

Some butter and oil
1 shallot
about 3 strips of bacon (plus extra to snack on whilst stirring)
1/2 cup risotto rice
about 500ml stock
3/4 cup peas
parmesan (lots)

Heat the oil and butter in a pan. Add in the sliced shallot and sweat until translucent. Remove from the pan. Add in the bacon and cook until crispy. If you can be bothered (I cannot) wipe the inside of the pan clean. Alternatively use another pan. Place the shallot and some extra oil in this new pan and heat slightly. Add in the risotto rice and fry for a few minutes until the rice is translucent at the edges. If you have white wine (I didn’t) add is a generous splash at this point. Then start to add in the stock, a little at a time, and turn down the heat so that the risotto bubbles slowly, in a kind of relaxed, chilled out sort of way. Stir, adding stock, until the rice becomes creamy and the whole debacle thickens slightly. At this point add in the peas and bacon. (You’ll probably end up with much less bacon that you anticipated because you have been snacking on it whilst stirring.) Allow about 5 more minutes at this point for the peas to cook through. Grate in a load of Parmesan and allow to stand for 5 minutes before serving. To make it extra decadent you can stir in some butter and cream at the end.