Bacon and leek risotto

Very easy - after the initial cooking, just pop it in the oven! It's very tasty, and low in fat too.

Makes: 2 servings
Takes: 15 minutes + 1 hour cooking time

Ingredients

1 tsp olive oil
1 large leek
1 clove garlic
4 rashers bacon
2 or 3 mushrooms
7 oz (uncooked weight) risotto rice
1 tsp dried thyme
1 chicken or vegetable stock cube

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150oC.
2. Trim and finely slice the leek. Peel and chop the garlic. Heat the oil in a large non-stick saucepan and fry the leek and garlic for a few minutes till softened, then transfer to a plate.
3. Trim all the fat from the bacon and cut into small pieces. Slice the mushrooms. Cook bacon and mushrooms in the saucepan till browned (you shouldn't need any extra oil).
4. Return the leek and garlic to the pan and add the rice, stirring well. Make 1 1/2 pints of stock using the stock cube and boiling water, and add to the pan with the thyme.
5. Bring to the boil, stirring well, then transfer to a large ovenproof dish and cover with foil. Bake for an hour. Check towards the end of this time and remove the foil if the risotto looks too wet, or add a little extra boiling water if necessary.

Great as it is, or as an accompaniment to a main meal. I often cook a chicken breast while the risotto is cooking then shred the chicken and add to the risotto before serving (the photo above shows the risotto with chicken added). You can also make this a vegetarian dish by using Quorn rashers and ensuring that the stock cube is vegetable rather than chicken.