While at Wal-Mart last week I saw some leeks and thought to myself, “those sound really good.” So I decided to go crazy with the leeks and thought about a few recipes to use them in. I got really excited because my mom made this really good Potato Leek soup from a William Sonoma cookbook a while back. So I knew I wanted to make that and there was also a risotto I wanted to try (now that I’m done being afraid of making risotto).
What is a leek you ask? They are a part of the onion family. They kind of look like green onions, but have more leafs and are larger (See picture below). They also have a milder flavor then an onion. I knew what they were, but I have never cooked with them. So I felt up to the challenge and thought I would give it a whirl!
I started to make the soup and read that you need to clean the leeks really well because they can have dirt in the crevices. So I washed them and cut them up and followed the recipe to the T! One thing the cook book failed to point out was that you use the white part and not the green part. If I wasn’t so excited I would have looked at the picture and used my own past experiences to know the soup was white and not green. However, in my over excitement for this soup I used the green parts on top. It took me up until the point where I started to blend it up to notice this was not how the soup was supposed to turn out. It looked like baby poop. So I got super bummed out and pouted and flailed my arms about like a child. It kind of felt like when you were young and really wanted to go on the rollercoaster and found out you were too short by a couple of inches! So Holli had cereal and I had left over Papa John’s pizza she had brought home from work. Oh well, you can’t win them all!
I promised myself I wouldn’t screw up the risotto and the recipe even said to only use the white part. I also bought some good wine at Kroger so we could stop sinning by using nasty cooking wine. I thought it made a difference. The woman at Kroger was so nice helping this Mormon find a good wine. So with the Leeks I’m one for two this week. Please enjoy this risotto recipe. Since I only post what I make I didn’t feel right about posting the soup recipe like I had planned. So I will try to make it again soon and post it!
On an unrelated, but still a food note, I ate a McRib today and it was gross.
Leek, Bacon, and Pea Risotto
Ingredients
2 leeks, white and light-green parts only
12 cups (96 ounces) low-sodium chicken broth
4 slices bacon, cut crosswise into strips
2 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup frozen peas (optional)
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Coarse salt and ground pepper
Directions
1. Halve leeks lengthwise; rinse thoroughly. Pat dry; thinly slice. In a saucepan, bring broth to a simmer over medium. Meanwhile, in a large, straight-sided skillet or Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium, stirring, until lightly browned but not crisp, 5 minutes. Add leeks; cook, stirring, until softened, 2 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high. Add rice and cook, stirring, until translucent around edges, 1 minute.
2. Add wine and stir until evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup broth. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring, until broth is absorbed, about 2 minutes. Repeat process, gradually adding broth, until rice is al dente and risotto is creamy (you may not need all the broth), about 35 minutes. Stir in peas (if using) after the final addition of broth.
3. Remove skillet from heat and stir in Parmesan. Cover and let stand 2 minutes. Season risotto with lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
