I was feeling a bit punky this week.
What’s punky?
It means that I was under the weather. Yeah…I got the saying (and likely the cooties) at the office.
But all of the sudden yesterday afternoon, I WAS BACK! Energy, spunk–and especially my appetite!!
I WAS HUNGRY!!!!!
So when I got home, I did a quick inventory of what I had in the pantry and about 30 minutes later — BOOM!
Breakfast Risotto was born!
I adore risottos. It’s rich, comforting and just darn tasty!
And I love breakfasts and brunch foods. Bacon and eggs, baby!
So really, it was only time that I combined the two to make this unctuous and satisfying dish. Oh! And since I had some asparagus on hand, I threw some in for some texture and brightness. Now I will say that I debated between a fried egg and a poached one. Let’s be honest, I’m a big fan of both. But in the end, I went with a crispy fried egg for some more texture—though I won’t be hurt if you go with a poached egg.
In the end, it was a winning dish! Perfect for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner!
And here’s to not feeling punky anymore! ❤
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Bacon Risotto
Serves 4
Ingredients:
4 cups chicken stock
4 slices bacon, diced
1 cup diced white onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 cup Arborio rice
½ cup white wine
1 cup chopped blanched asparagus
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese, more to garnish
kosher salt
¼ chopped Italian parsley, more to garnish
4 fried eggs
Heat the chicken stock in a medium sized saucepan and keep warm over low heat.
In a heavy bottom pot over medium-low heat, slowly sauté the bacon until it becomes crispy and the fat has rendered down—about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon and transfer the bacon bits to a plate covered with paper towels. Reserve two tablespoons of bacon drippings in the pan and discard the rest. Sauté the onions over medium heat in the bacon drippings until translucent. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, thyme leaves, rice and stir quickly until the rice is well coated and opaque—about 1 minute. Stir in the wine and cook until the liquid is nearly all evaporated.
Ladle in 1 cup of the chicken broth into the rice. Simmer and slowly stir until the rice has absorbed the liquid. Add the remaining broth, 1 cup at a time. Continue to simmer and stir, allowing the rice to absorb each addition of broth before adding more. The risotto should be slightly firm and creamy–approximately 25-30 minutes in total.
Gently fold in the asparagus, lemon zest and Parmesan. Check for seasonings and adjust with the kosher salt. Fold in the parsley.
Spoon the risotto into dishes and top each with the reserved crispy bacon. Grate additional Parmesan cheese over each dish. Top each with a fried egg and sprinkle parsley over each dish. Serve immediately.
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