Pancetta, Leek and Thyme Risotto

I have been fancying Italian food lately.  So, last night, I indulged myself and made a Pancetta, Leek and Thyme Risotto.  My first choice would have been sage to be honest, but I haven't got any growing in the garden, so I decided to use fresh thyme and see what it was like.  This is what I did (Chardonnay in hand).

I gathered together my pancetta, leek and thyme.

I fried the pancetta over a medium-ish heat for a couple of minutes in a dab of olive oil, then added the leeks and fried the mixture for about five minutes.  I weighed out 150g of arborio rice (75g per person, as it said on the side of the packet), and fried that for two minutes (also as it said on the side of the packet). 

Then I added the wine...I don't know if you can get these little bottles of wine in English supermarkets, but they are BRILLIANT for cooking.  They come in packs of six, like rather larger yoghurts, and I get Mum and Dad to bring me back a supply of both red and white every time they go to France (the French have such style that you have to admire it - wine specially for cooking so you don't have to use your drinking wine, wonderful!).

I decided that I didn't want to adulterate my lovely risotto with cheap and nasty stock cubes (I have been experimenting with own-brand food recently; some's just as good as the more expensive variety, some's not and stock comes into the not category) so I added some of my Dad's gorgeous flavoured sea-salt, which he makes with herbs he grows himself) and a load of black pepper.

It all simmered away happily to itself, needing only an occasional stir, while I made the salads look pretty and drank more wine.

At the last minute, when the rice was nicely done and the texture nice and creamy I popped in the chopped thyme, stirred it all around and let it sit on a low heat for a couple of minutes, then it was time to enjoy, with a marscapone and thyme garnish - just like being in a restaurant!

A note on the thyme - I'll probably use sage next time, as thyme is quite a challenging taste, and with this risotto I think you want something a bit less combative, that allows the flavour of the leek and pancetta to shine a bit more.  But still, very good!