Ever since my son was born I have always tried to introduce new flavour to him. In recent years I’ve been introducing my son Ted, who is 7, to more spices in his food. Ted is not a great fan of spicy food but I wasn’t when I was his age. Over the years I have introduced my tastebuds to spices and now I am a huge fan of them. Spices are a great way to add flavour to your dishes. They can make a NEW meal from an existing one.
A couple of years ago I made a bacon risotto and with the same sauce I made a bacon pasta too. Therefore I decided to add spices to this dish. Spices are not only a flavour enhancer but they can also help to cut down on the amount of salt and sugar in food. It’s a bonus for babies and young children as it can help to expand their palates. Hence why I’m always trying new spices in my sons food. He’s still not keen but Ted enjoyed the final results of this dish. It was a big thumbs up from all of us.
Equipment
- Sharp knife
- Chopping board
- Grater
- Colander
- Teaspoon
- Tablespoon
- Stirring spoon
- Frying pan
Ingredients
- Bacon x 500g or about 6 – 8 rashes
- Onion x 1
- Garlic x 2 cloves
- Courgette x 1
- Red pepper x 1
- Rice x 300g
- Tomatoes x 1 400g tin
- Bone broth x 500mls
- Tamari x 1 tbsp
- Tomato puree x 1 tbsp
- Sumac x 1 tsp
- Mild or hot chilli powder x 1 tsp
- Smoked paprika x 1 tsp
- Ground ginger x 1 tsp
- Ground cinnamon x 1/2 tsp
- Dried oregano x 1 tsp
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Coriander x 1 handful
- Spinach x 1 handful
Method
- Cut the skin from the onion and then slice and dice it.
- Peel the skin from the garlic and slice it.
- Next peel the courgette and cut the top from it.
- Then grate it.
- Slice the top from the pepper and remove the core and the green stalk.
- Now slice the pepper and dice it too.
- Set these vegetables aside.
- Remove all the packaging from the bacon and slice it.
- Set the bacon aside too.
- Wash the rice twice through in the colander and set aside.
- Put the frying pan onto a high heat and add oil to the base.
- Spread the oil across the base of the pan with a plastic brush.
- When the pan has heated up add in the onions.
- Fry for about 5 minutes or until the onion starts to turn see through.
- If the pan gets to hot at any point turn the heat down slightly.
- Add in the garlic a fry for a minute or so.
- Then add in the bacon and fry until the fat turn a golden brown colour.
- Next add in the courgette and peppers and fry for a couple of minutes.
- Sprinkle over the sumac, mild or hot chilli powder, smoked paprika, ground ginger, ground cinnamon and dried oregano.
- Put the rice into the frying pan and stir until it starts to become see through.
- Pour over the tomatoes and the bone broth.
- Add in the tamari and tomato puree.
- Sparkle over salt and pepper to your taste.
- Stir all these ingredients together and put the lid on.
- Bring to the boil and then turn the heat down to low.
- Let the rice adsorb all of the juice in the risotto.
- Once all the juice looks as though it has been adsorbed remove the lid.
- Stir to check the juice is gone and if not put the lid back on.
- Leave for a few minutes and check again.
- Continue with this process until all the juice is gone.
- When all the liquid disappears remove the risotto from heat.
- Chop the coriander and the spinach and stir this into the risotto.
- Finally add cheese (optional) then serve and enjoy.
Googie’s Kitchen presents Spicy Sumac Bacon Risotto was a yummy dish that we all enjoyed. It’s a dish that need to be made and eaten on the same day. Rice when left for long periods of time starts to develop bacteria which can be poisonous to the body. Therefore this is an on the day dinner which doesn’t take long to make at all. The best part about this meal is it’s a one pot dish so not much washing up once it’s cooked. However you decide to eat this dish, as always, please enjoy. Thank you xxx
Googies Kitchen Life 