RISOTTO WITH PANCETTA AND PEAS
| 30g unsalted butter | 2 tablespoons olive oil |
| 1 small red onion, finely chopped | 1 clove finely minced garlic |
| 4 slices pancetta, chopped | 200g Italian arborio rice |
| 50 ml white wine | approximately 600ml home-made chicken stock |
| 400g tin Italian tomatoes, chopped (add juice to stock) | half cup frozen peas |
| 75g freshly grated parmesan cheese | black pepper in a grinder |
Heat the butter and olive oil in a heavy-based lidded saucepan and saute the onion until it starts to colour. Add the garlic and pancetta and stir for another 5 minutes or so until the pancetta begins to darken.
Add the rice and stir with a wooden spoon until every grain is coated with oil, then continue to cooking and stirring until the rice is lightly "toasted". Add the chopped tomatoes.
Pour in the wine and when most of it has sizzled away, add a large ladle full of the stock mixture and cook, stirring, until the liquid has been absorbed. Add another ladle of the stock and repeat this procedure for approximately 15 - 20 minutes, adding more stock as required. After the second or third ladle full of stock, add the frozen peas.
Never drown the rice by adding too much liquid at one time and taste the rice after about 10 minutes to see if it is ready: it should be tender, but still firm.
When rice has absorbed all or most of the stock and is al dente, turn off heat, grind in black pepper and let sit, covered for about 5-10 minutes.
Stir in the grated parmesan cheese, mix well and serve with a crisp green salad.