INGREDIENTS
- 4 oz Chopped Hickory Bacon
- ½ Cup Diced White Onions
- ½ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- ½ Cup Dry White Wine
- 3 Cups Vegan Chicken Broth
- 3-4 Cups Water
- 1 Cup Carnaroli Rice, Arborio Rice or Sushi Rice
- 4 oz Garlic Pepper Havarti
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Optional: 2-3 Sliced Roasted Beets
Chop the bacon to whatever size you'd like to have in the risotto (we recommend small, thin slices). In a medium stockpot, fry the bacon with 1/4 cup of olive oil over medium heat until crisp, about 5-10 min. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Heat remaining oil over medium-low heat. Add onion and lightly sauté until translucent and tender. Meanwhile, combine broth and water in a large measuring cup or a separate small stock pot.
Add the rice to the oil and continue to sauté over medium heat until the rice is translucent and sizzling. Deglaze the stock pot by adding white wine and loosening the bits at the bottom of the pan. Once the wine has evaporated, add one cup of the diluted vegan chicken broth, stirring constantly. Continue adding the broth mixture 1 cup at a time, allowing the liquid to evaporate in between each cup.
After about 20 minutes of this process, taste the risotto to see if it is al dente - firm but not so starchy that it gets stuck in your teeth. You will most likely add 6 cups of the broth mixture to get to this point, but depending on a variety of factors you may need to keep adding liquid until the rice is tender. Once the rice is tender, add about one more cup of liquid to bring the risotto to the consistency of soup. It will continue to thicken.
Break the garlic pepper havarti up into chunks and add to the risotto and continue to stir. Add the bacon to the risotto or alternately as a garnish. If you are feeling romantic, try adding roasted, quartered beets at this point to give the risotto a light pink color.
Serves 2
If you'd like to make it all at once so you can enjoy leftovers, double the quantities in the recipe and use a large stock pot instead of a medium stock pot.
