Bacon and Onion Risotto with a Fried Egg

   I stumbled across this recipe: Bacon and Leek Risotto with Poached Egg in an old Bon Appetit Magazine and decided to make it for dinner one night this week.  Of course, that's the wrong order to decide what to make for dinner on Kwaj.  The best way to it is to go to the grocery store on Tuesday afternoon to see what's available, buy what looks good (but only enough to get through the week- buying ahead means spoiled food), and then go home and pick out recipes for the week.   And that what I usually do but I really wanted to make this dish.   Of course, there weren't any leeks at the store this week, so I had to improvise.
  The recipe below is the Kwaj version of the Bon Appetit recipe above.  It's a little time consuming to make- don't start it unless you have a half hour or so to stand at the stove making the risotto- but it's worth it.  This dinner came out so well we awarded it a victory lap (I got to run around the table while the family clapped and cheered), and Fire actually cried when he finished his because he liked it so much and wanted more. 
  If you wanted to make it vegetarian, you could leave out the bacon and substitute the chicken broth for vegetable broth.  I would use quite a bit of butter, enough to have a quarter-inch of melted butter in the bottom of the dutch oven before you add the rice, and you'll probably have to add some extra seasonings to make up for the missing bacon flavor.


Amber's Bacon and Onion Risotto with a Fried Egg

Ingredients:

 large eggs (one for each person eating an egg)

 6 cups low-salt chicken broth made with bouillon

 1 tablespoon olive oil

 6 slices bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces

 1 large yellow onion, chopped 

 1 1/2 cups medium-grain white rice 

 1/2 cup white cooking wine 

 1 tablespoon dry parsley

 1 tablespoon butter

 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

 

Instructions:

  Bring broth to simmer in medium saucepan; cover to keep warm. Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until crisp, stirring occasionally. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Add onion to drippings in pan; cook until soft but not brown, stirring often, 4 to 5 minutes.  Add rice to pan; stir 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine; stir until absorbed, about 2 minutes. Add 1⁄2 cup warm broth to saucepan; stir until broth is absorbed. Repeat adding broth and stirring until rice is tender but still firm to bite and sauce is creamy, stirring almost constantly, about 30  minutes total. Add bacon, parsley, butter, and cheese. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

  Cover rice and set aside.  Heat a frying pan and spray with cooking spray.  Fry as many eggs as you need for the meal.  When whites are cooked through but yolks are still runny, remove pan from heat. 

  Divide risotto among plates. Top risotto in each plate with  fried egg and enjoy!