Cooking meals for the family after a long hard day can fill you with a sense of dread. The last thing you feel like doing is slaving over a hot stove for an hour or two when you get home from work.
(my recipe is adjusted from this one on the BBC Good Food site – http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1120679/ovenbaked-leek-and-bacon-risotto )
If you’re looking for an easy weekday meal idea then read on. Below you’ll find one of my favourite quick, easy and healthy family meals you can try out. Every time I cook this it gets mopped up by the whole family. A one-pot risotto using store cupboard staples that you can bung in the oven and leave for 40 minutes? Got to be a midweek winner – and it’s SO easy!
Oven-baked Leek & Bacon Risotto
These are the quantities I use for a huge dish that feeds 5 healthy appetites, one small one, and leaves leftovers for two lunches next day.
What You Need:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 500g smoked bacon (I use back, streaky would be fine)
- 3 large leeks, finely sliced
- 500g risotto rice
- 1.5litres hot chicken (or vegetable) stock
- 350g frozen peas
- 1 red pepper, thinly sliced
- 300g tub of garlic & herb cream cheese
What you Do:
- Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6.
- Tip the oil into a metal ovenproof casserole dish, and place on stove top.
- Add bacon and fry for 2 mins.
- Add the leeks and cook until soft, but not coloured, (about 4-5 mins).
- Tip in rice and cook for 1 min more, stirring to keep it from sticking.
- Pour over stock.
- Cover and place in the oven for 30 mins, stirring halfway.
- When rice is just tender and all liquid is absorbed, remove from oven and stir in peas and pepper. Place back in oven for 10 mins more. Remove and stir in cheese. Season and serve into bowls.
