Risotto alla Carbonara

I love it when the need for a dish creates the dish itself. Necessity is always the mother of invention, ‘mother’ being the key term in this particular case. A mom in our circle of friends recently had her second baby, and had smartly registered on MealBaby to ensure that a regular rotation of nourishing food arrived on their babymooning doorstep.

On MealBaby, you can be as general or as specific as you like about your dietary needs and preferences. In my friend’s case, I thought risotto sounded like a great comfort food for them, but they need to make sure a good amount of protein is in every entree. So I started wondering about what kind of meat would be the most harmonious in a risotto. Bacon came to mind – and then the idea struck: what about a risotto . . . . rendered in carbonara form?  Did I dare???

The first time I made this, I tried it with turkey bacon, and thought it was already a resounding success (the family agreed). The second time, I decided to go all the way, with full-on 100% bacon bacon. And all I have to say is that unless you have a dietary reason to avoid any of the admittedly decadent ingredients herein, you must, MUST make this, preferably as your autumn weather begins to make its turn into the coming chilly months. Read the rest of this entry →