shitake mushroom, shredded zucchini and bacon risotto

After an amazing Olympic Games filled with golden moments and amazing new friends, I'm back at it in the kitchen. I can now live a long life without seeing another untoasted gluten free bread sandwich after living off of them for the past month.

When I thought of what I would make on my first day off, the thing that came right to mind is my favourite shitake mushroom, zucchini and Canadian back bacon risotto. Before my diagnosis, I never made risotto. Pasta seemed like an easier dish for great meal. While rice and corn pasta exist, I have barely eaten it over the past year. Instead, I have discovered a love for risotto. Like pizza, it is a base that any food can be added to for a delicious dinner. It always seems to work out and tastes fabulous.

So for my first home cooked meal following the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games, I decided to make risotto.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 white onion
Bacon - I use half a package of Freybe Canadian back bacon
1.5 cups chicken broth - I use Pacific Organics
1.5 cups sliced shitake mushrooms
1 shredded zucchini
shredded romano cheese

1. Boil chicken broth in separate pot. Let simmer on low heat once boiled
2. Pour olive oil into a heated wok or pan. Add bacon and thinly copped onions and cook until soft.
3. Add arborio rice and toast in pan until liquid is absorbed
4. Add 3/4 cup of chicken broth to the onion, bacon rice and stir until absorbed
5. Add shredded zucchini and mushrooms and another 3/4 cup of chicken broth. Stir until absorbed
6. Add the rest of the chicken broth and stir until absorbed
7. Add romano cheese when almost all of the broth is absorbed. Keep stirring.
8. Serve topped with romano cheese

Serve with a glass of chilled white wine and enjoy!