Chop the onions, fairly roughly as these are the only vegetables giving texture to this dish. See our onion Tip. De-rind and chop the bacon with scissors. Heat the olive oil (about 2 or 3 tablespoons) in a large, high-sided frying pan or a large saucepan on a high heat. Turn the heat down to medium and tip the onions in. Keep them moving around in the oil until well coated and they begin to soften, the onions will start to go translucent, about 4 mins. Do not overcook - you want them to keep a slight crunch/bite.
Turn the heat back up and add the bacon. Stir until the bacon looks cooked (no red) and the fat renders. Do not allow anything to burn; turn the heat back down if this looks like happening.
Make sure the pan is quite hot, then add all the rice and muddle it around in the pan for a couple of minutes until it is fully coated in oil, and begins to turn traslucent.
Add the tinned tomatoes, stir, and make sure they come to the boil. Crumble in the stock cubes and add a really big squeeze of tomato puree. Add a good slug of Worcester sauce, and if wanted a small splash of Tabasco (do not add too much).
Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. It will not need much salt due to the stock, but will need a lot of pepper. Taste. Adjust with puree, pepper, salt etc to taste, remembering that it will taste raw at this stage. Make sure the consistency is not too wet, but still saucy as it will reduce down a lot – add a little boiled water (hot) if needed - you can rinse the tomato cans out with this first so you add more juice.
Make sure the rice mix is boiling, i.e. it is all bubbling, then turn down the heat to the lowest setting and/or move to a smaller ring (also on lowest). Let it simmer until the rice is tender and the liquid is fully absorbed, i.e. you have firm not sloppy texture – how long depends on the rice and the amount of liquid but between 20 and 30 mins normally. Check every 5 to 10 mins or so for consistency and stir gently to move the rice off the bottom to prevent sticking (it can stick and burn very easily so be vigilant!) but do not over-stir or it will get gluey, and also taste again. Adjust with all the seasonings and water, puree etc as needed. Have a lid handy. You can cook with the lid on or off – lid on will keep it saucier; lid off will help it reduce. It depends on how wet it is - you can chop and change as it cooks.
Grate the cheese – we use cheddar. Chop the parsley. See our herb Tip. Keep both to one side. About 5 mins before serving, or about 15 mins into cooking, add the parsley and stir in (do not add too much or it takes over).
When the rice is tender and the liquid reduced (test the rice by taking out a grain or two and biting - it should feel soft and not at all chalky), turn the heat off and rest for a few minutes with the lid on before serving. It is nicest not quite piping hot. The texture should be firm, with no or only a little free liquid.
If at any stage you fear your rice is cooking before the liquid has properly reduced you can take some liquid out with a large spoon. Press the spoon down onto the risotto and allow some liquid to run into it (with little or no rice coming out); tip the liquid into a bowl, repeat until you are happy with the texture, then discard the liquid. Do not panic and do this too soon however, the rice will soak up a lot of liquid. Only do if about 15mins in the rice is starting to feel cooked, but there is still a lot of liquid in the pan
When cooked, spoon onto plates and serve with the cheese.
This is also really good served cold the next day, so leftovers are a bonus!
Bon appetit!
