Ingredients:
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 cups bite sized pieces of broccoli
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups Arborio rice
1/3 cup Parmesan, grated
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 slices thick cut bacon, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon butter
zest one lemon
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
In a saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer. Heat oil and butter in a large saucepan Saute the garlic and onion until lightly caramelized. Add the rice, salt and pepper and sauté for 2-3 minutes, stirring continually. Add the broth a 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously, and waiting until the liquid is absorbed before each addition. When you are about half way through the broth, add the broccoli to the rice.
Continue to add broth and stir. When the risotto is creamy and the rice is al dente remove from heat and stir in the Parmesan, bacon and zest.

My thoughts:

I was having a slightly embarrassing craving for the cheesy rice with broccoli I probably had once as a child and which was probably a boil-in-a-bag concoction, and thought I’d take the grown-up route and make risotto instead. It was very creamy and hit the spot the way the original was but was suitable to serve for a whole meal.

Note: I made extra bacon one day for breakfast so I didn’t have to fuss with making the bacon before making the risotto. It really saved time on a weeknight!