An ode to Risotto

There are a couple of staple dishes in my repertoire that I just love, and what is more I love the versions I make so much that I would now never ever order them at a restaurant. One of these is risotto, in particular my mushroom and leek risotto. I don't know about you but I have had some truly dire risottos in the past, ones where you know that the chef has taken short cuts to achieve the creamy texture of risotto (such as adding cream to it, yuck!). Now I know everyone's palate is different and everyone has different ways of doing things but if you are going to make a risotto, please take a little bit of care with it and no short cuts!

So here is how I make mine...

2-3 rashers bacon, diced
3-4 gloves garlic, minced (chop finely and then using the back of a knife and about a teaspoon of salt mulch it till is is a fine paste)
1 leek, sliced
a selection of mushrooms (we can get lovely gourmet packets here with 3 or 4 different varieties of mushrooms, these are perfect for a risotto and give a much greater depth of flavour then just using button mushrooms)
1 cup arborio rice
1 small glass white wine
2-3 cups stock
20g butter
a generous amount of parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Firstly, put the stock in a pot and bring to a gentle simmer, keep it simmering throughout the cooking process.
Fry the bacon and garlic in olive oil until the bacon is golden, keep stirring to ensure the garlic does not burn. Add the leek and fry for a few minutes, add the mushrooms and the rice. Fry off the rice for about 5 minutes before adding liquid.
Add the wine and let the rice absorb all the moisture before you add anymore liquid. From here is is a process of adding small amounts of hot stock (about half a cup each time) and continually stirring, always make sure the liquid is absorbed before you add more. The stirring is what is going to help you achieve the creaminess. This whole process should take about 45 minutes.
Once the rice is cooked through stir in the butter and some parmesan. Serve with a generous amount of cracked pepper. Voila, beautiful, creamy risotto!