With this beer risotto, you're serving up a surprisingly hearty dish, packed with flavour and character. Creamy risotto, roasted carrot, fresh spring onion and that crispy bite of bacon… Sounds good, right? Grab a bottle of lager, reach for your favourite pan and get cooking. This twist on a classic is one you’ll want to try.
Ingredients for beer risotto
200 g risotto rice | 1 small onion | 1 garlic clove | 2 bottles of lager | approx. 600 ml hot vegetable stock | 30g butter | 40- 50 g freshly grated Parmesan | olive oil | salt & pepper | 3 carrots | 3 spring onions | 1 tsp butter | 6 rashers of streaky bacon
Finely chop the onion and garlic. Heat a splash of olive oil in a large cast iron frying pan and gently sauté the onion and garlic until soft and translucent. Add the risotto rice and stir for a minute or two until the grains start to look slightly see-through
Pour in 200 ml of beer (save the rest for later!) and stir well until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
Now add the hot stock gradually – just enough each time to cover the rice. Keep stirring! Pour in most of the remaining beer (keep a small splash aside) and let the risotto simmer gently for around 20 minutes.
While the risotto is simmering, peel and halve the carrots lengthwise. Clean the spring onions and cut the white part into chunks. Heat the butter in a separate pan and roast the carrots and spring onions until golden. Season with salt and pepper. Push them to the side and fry the bacon in the same pan until crispy. Drain on kitchen paper.
After about 20 minutes, the rice should be cooked but still slightly firm. Stir in the butter, grated Parmesan and the final splash of beer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Spoon the risotto onto plates, top with the roasted vegetables and finish with the crispy bacon. Fancy some extra Parmesan? Go for it!
