Black Pudding and Bacon Risotto Recipe
A lovely parcel arrived for me last week; a whole box full of black and white puddings.
It's a delivery I can safely say has never happened to me before but after sampling some of Clonakilty's black pudding in a risotto today, it is one of the finest. It is simply the best black pudding I have ever tasted, and I've tasted a lot.
Clonakilty have been famous in Ireland for over 100 years. Based in West Cork, they have been producing top quality bacon and sausages to the good people of Ireland for long enough to know what top quality is. They are Ireland's leading black pudding manufacturers and take my word for it, you can tell why.
Rather than serve it with a traditional breakfast, I thought a good use would be to crumble some into a good risotto. I can remember some years back eating a paella in Valencia which used their version of the black pudding, morcilla, and it was amazing. So that's where the idea came from.
The resulting risotto is rich and fulfilling and although the Irish will probably question my use of their fine product in an Italian staple, all I can say is, try it and see! Thanks Clonakilty.
Black Pudding and Bacon Risotto
Serves 4
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 rashers of smoked bacon, roughly chopped
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 clove of garlic, sliced
- 400g Arbario rice
- 1 litre hot vegetable or chicken stock
- 6 thick slices black pudding
- 100g Parmesan cheese, grated
- Salt and pepper
1 - Heat the olive oil in a large deep-sided non-stick pan. Add the bacon and fry until crisp and golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep aside on kitchen towel.
2 - Add the onion and garlic to the oil and cook until softened. Stir in the rice then add a couple of ladles of the stock. Bring to the simmer and cook, stirring regularly. Once the stock has almost cooked out, add another couple of ladles of stock.
3 - Continue in this fashion until the rice is cooked through with a slight bite to it. Stir in the cooked bacon and half of the Parmesan cheese and taste for seasoning. Keep warm with a lid on.
4 - Add a little oil to a frying pan and fry the slices of black pudding for 2-3 minutes each side. Crumble some of it into the risotto.
5 - Serve the risotto with more black pudding and Parmesan sprinkled on top.