Only 18 days until I’m taking a glorious week of summer vacation. 18 days. Not that I’m counting or anything. Not at all. I mean, who would count down to a week of vacation with your family on a lake with breweries, cocktails, and relaxation everywhere in sight? Not me. I’d much rather be spending my days in an office with no sunlight or fresh air. But if I’m forced to take this vacation, I’ll try to make the best of it. Really. 18 days away and I have a feeling I’ll be mentioning it in every blog post I write until then. Because I need a vacation more than anything on Earth right now. A remote tropical island would be preferable. But a house on Lake Chautauqua will do the trick, too.
Until then, I’m making the most out of my weekends that I can. This one was packed with BBQs, family, friends, and just a tiny bit of time in the kitchen. When I know I’m not going to be home to cook at all on weekends, I at least like to get up early one day and whip up a nice breakfast. In many ways, I truly believe that breakfast is the best meal of the day (I accidentally just typed “bacon is the best meal of the day” and that works, too) and even just enjoying a hot cup of coffee on a weekend morning with my husband is my favorite thing in the world. Since risotto is one of my all-time most-loved meals, I’m thrilled I’ve now found a way to eat it for breakfast. Breakfast Risotto with Bacon and Poached Egg.
If only I had time to make this every day before work, my days would likely be infinitely better. Because bacon. And eggs. And risotto. With a huge cup of coffee on the side 
Breakfast Risotto with Bacon and Poached Egg (serves about 4… or 2 if you eat a lot):
Print this recipe!
- 6 strips bacon
- 4 C low-sodium chicken broth
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 C arborio rice
- 1/4 C dry white wine
- 4 eggs
- 2 T vinegar (for poaching egg)
- 6 scallions, chopped
- 1/4 C parmesan cheese
- 1/2 C sharp cheddar cheese (My favorite Cabot, sent me this deliciousness!)
Start by chopping all your bacon into little bite-sized pieces.
And put it in a large saucepan over medium heat.
While bacon is cooking, pour chicken broth into a medium saucepan, bring to a boil, and then lower to a simmer. Leave simmering.
Cook the bacon until it’s nice and crispy and remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate.
Drain oil from pan, leaving about 2 T.
Put garlic in pan and let cook for about 30 seconds to a minute. Mine cooked a tiny bit too long, but no big deal!
Add arborio rice to pot and cook for about one minute, until it’s translucent around the edges.
Pour white wine in, stir, and take care to scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Let cook until wine is completely absorbed.
Now add 1/2 C chicken stock in, stir, and let absorb. While I don’t believe you have to be constantly stirring risotto, it is important to take care that the rice isn’t sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Continue adding broth into rice 1/2 C at a time, stirring, and letting absorb.
While the risotto is getting all creamy and delicious, poach your eggs!
There are tons of tutorials you can follow (my fave is Alton Brown‘s as he warns you not to “peek, poke, stir or accost the egg.” It’s tough to resist accosting an egg, but you know…
I generally fill a large saucier with high sides with water and bringing to a simmer over medium heat. I add 2 T vinegar to the water, too.
I place each cracked egg in a little bowl and then I slowly pour the egg into the simmering water.
Turn off the heat of the stove and let the eggs cook for about 4 minutes.
Remove from water to a paper towel-lined plate.
Your risotto should have all of the chicken broth added to it by now and it should be nice and creamy and ready for eating!
Of course, first you’ll want to stir in the chopped bacon, scallions, parmesan cheese, and cheddar cheese. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, too.
Good morning!
Serve the risotto in a bowl with a poached egg on top.
With runny yolk!
And some more green onion sprinkled on top. I rarely make risotto without a little caramelized onion mixed in, but for this one, I wanted to use fresh green onion all the way.
So, I said this makes 4 servings. But beware that if you serve bowls of it as large as these ones, you may only get two servings. I eat an excessive amount of risotto and I’m sure it’s way more than a serving size, but a) I had to full the bowl for the photo and b) it wasn’t hard to eat an entire bowl.
Serving sizes are tough, y’all. I don’t want to be like one of those bags of chips that you think are all healthy because they have so few calories, but then you realize there are “11 servings” and you ate the entire bag. And “so few calories” times 11 servings is actually quite a lot. But I guess, all nutritional common sense would tell you eating a bowl full of rice first thin in the AM, may not be the smartest idea. Though it’s certainly a delicious one.
Anyway, this really is a breakfast that will get your day off to the best start ever. Bacon and eggs in a creamy rice? You can’t argue it. However, now I’m wondering what other breakfast combinations I can make with risotto. I went the savory route; now what about the sweet?
And I’m feeling all kinds of regrets that I didn’t save any of this for Monday morning. Because Sundays are going to be wonderful no matter what you have for breakfast. Mondays need a start like this.
Oh and aren’t my table linens pretty here? This napkin is from Mia + Finn. The company generously sent me several of their French-inspired napkins and I’m sure you’ll be seeing them quite often in my photo shoots. I thought this pattern was the perfect breakfast pattern. In my opinion, there’s nothing quite like a well-set table and that especially holds true at breakfast. Any cheer I can add to my morning is a good thing!
OK, I’m off to have another cup of coffee and to continue my dismay over the fact that I ate all of the risotto. I guess a Greek yogurt will have to suffice this morning? Oh, Monday. Thank goodness for coffee!
And 18 days until vacation. 18 days.
What’s your favorite weekend breakfast?
Albion Fit winner!
Congratulations to Sarah K. for winning my giveaway for a $175 gift card to Albion Fit. I’ll email you ASAP so you can claim your prize and start shopping! Just so you know, eating Sunday breakfast in Albion Fit clothing is pretty much the best. It doesn’t matter if you’re planning on working out after or not
[Sues]
