Parmesan Rice with Ham and Bacon
White rice fried first with onion and garlic, then cooked in broth and finished with parmesan, ham and bacon stirred through. Frying the rice before the liquid goes in is what keeps the grains separate. Serves five.
Servings: 5
Calories: 863kcal
Ingredients
- 500 g white rice
- 2 cups meat broth or water see the notes: this is less liquid than 500 g of rice normally needs
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- Salt and pepper
- 350 g parmesan cheese, grated generous; half this amount still works
- 150 g ham, diced
- 150 g bacon, diced fry it before it goes in, or it stays raw
- Oil
Instructions
- Heat a little oil in a pot and cook the finely chopped onion and garlic for a few minutes. Add the rice.
- Fry the rice for a few minutes more, stirring so it does not stick or catch. The grains should turn translucent at the edges and stay white in the middle.
- Pour in the broth or water, add salt and pepper, and let it boil hard, uncovered.
- Once the liquid has been absorbed, turn the heat down, cover the pot, and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, fry the bacon and the ham. Raw bacon stirred in at the end will not cook through.
- When the rice is done, loosen the grains with a fork and stir in the parmesan, the bacon and the ham.
- Serve with a little more parmesan over the top.
Notes
Two warnings the original recipe does not give. The liquid is short: two cups of broth for 500 g of rice is well under the usual two-to-one ratio, so keep more broth hot and add it if the rice is still firm when the pot goes dry. And 350 g of parmesan for 500 g of rice is a lot of cheese, enough to make it the loudest thing on the plate; half that amount makes a more balanced dish and costs considerably less. Frying the rice before the liquid goes in is not optional if you want the grains separate: it coats each one in fat and stops them releasing starch into the pot.
Nutrition
Calories: 863kcal | Carbohydrates: 85g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 86mg | Sodium: 2504mg | Potassium: 413mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 558IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 874mg | Iron: 2mg