Risotto with red peppers, spinach and pancetta

Risotto with red peppers, spinach and pancetta is an easy dish that is great for the changing seasons. With flavours of oregano and fresh thyme, it's light enough if it's still warm where you are, but hearty enough if you need an autumnal warmer. It's easily turned vegan or vegetarian and can be pulled together in 45 minutes, including prep time.

Jump straight to the ingredients and cooking method

Seeing Red

This risotto was one of those the friend in Milan who taught me the rules of risotto also taught me to cook. Content that I had mastered these basic rules, she wanted to also show me a risotto that had a slightly different cooking process from most risottos that have a sequential cooking process that mean that once ingredients go into the pot, they stay there.

She told me that this was a risotto that would often be cooked in late summer as the seasons changed, not specifically autumnal, but also with fewer light green notes and slightly more intense herbal notes such as thyme.

In this case, there is no long, complex story. We cooked it together in her kitchen in her apartment in Porta Romana, savoured it over some good wine she had bought at a local organic enoteca and chatted late into the night about art, fashion and films as we always do. For me it will always be a feel-good risotto, because it reminds me of her and the times I spend enjoying her company.

One of the things I do remember about cooking it, however, was that she explained that the process of cooking the red peppers first before adding them to the risotto was meant to keep their vibrant colour that would come out in the final dish.

Unfaithful Mama

My friend who taught me to cook this risotto said that in her family and amongst other Milanese, this dish was sometimes jokingly called risotto Mama infedele —unfaithful Mama risotto—a sobriquet created by local colourful character who ran a much loved trattoria from the 1950s to the 1980s that served it. According to the racy patter he would share with patrons, he claimed it was invented by an adulteress who whipped it together with the few ingredients she had in the house before her husband got home from work because she had spent the afternoon with her lover rather than going to the market.

As my friend pointed out, whether this was or was not true, it certainly is a delicious risotto that can be pulled together quickly with relatively few ingredients. And, as a woman working long hours in a high-powered job in a fashion house, it was often one she whipped together when getting home late, knowing that if the ingredients weren't already in her kitchen, she'd be able to pick them up at a supermarket on the way home easily enough. She said that although she wasn't a Mama infedele, she certainly felt like one because her job was a demanding lover that commanded so much of her attention.

Take note:

This version is for 2 to 3 diners as a main course, depending on appetite and any side dishes. Or, for 4 to 5 as a starter—apparently this risotto is usually served in Milan as a primo piatto with duck or chicken main courses. You can easily scale it up or down

This dish stores well in the fridge for a couple of days and, like many risottos freezes well. When freezing risotto, I tend to fully defrost it first, then heat in a fairly shallow frying pan on a low heat, adding a few dabs or water to revive some of the creaminess. You can reheat it in a microwave, but I find this method yields better results.

3 top tips to get this recipe right:

• Cooking the red peppers this way is not only about deepening the colour (if that is even true), but it also has two other functions. By not adding it raw, you don't face the problem of the peppers being undercooked when the rice is optimally cooked. Conversely, nor do you face the problem of overcooking it because it should remain a highlight ingredient with a little crunch. And, it keeps the hint of lemon confined to the red peppers rather than spread pervasively through the dish.

• Carnaroli is my favourite risotto rice and I almost always use it for risotto. But I really recommend that, if you can, try to get your hands on it for this particular risotto. Because it is so naturally creamy, you won't need to undertake a final mantecatura stage—whipping in butter and grated cheese. This is good for keeping the fat content slightly lower. But it is particularly important if you want to make a creamy vegan version.

• I am using large cubes of a spicy smoked Calabrian pancetta but it is equally fine to use smoked pancetta (as was originally taught to me), bacon lardons or even rashers of smoked bacon (with the fat left on) as alternatives. Similarly, how much pancetta you use depends on how "meaty" you want the end result. I am using less, because I am reducing my meat intake. This particular traditional Calabrian pancetta contains more fat than the average supermarket or deli varieties, so too much of it would also be overkill in the final flavours. But you can use double this amount of less fatty pancetta. If making it for friends who don't eat pork, I use pastrami and try to buy it from delis where it is not pre-sliced so I can cut it into the relevant size cubes myself. But if it needs to be halal or kosher, unfortunately pastrami with these certifications is often pre-sliced. It still works well. And, it needs no pre-cooking.

Spicy Calabrian pancetta

Shopping list

for the risotto with red peppers, spinach and pancetta

• 1 large cup (roughly 170g) carnaroli rice; (or other risotto rice)

• 2 medium brown onions (or red); diced

• 3 medium red bell peppers; diced

• 4 sticks of celery; finely sliced

• Approx. 75g spinach; finely chopped, fresh or frozen

• 100 to 200g diced smoked pancetta (or pancetta or bacon)

• 3 to 4tbspns virgin olive oil 

• 500ml chicken stock (or vegetable stock) NB: it must be hot

• 6 cloves of garlic; grated or finely chopped; divided (see recipe below)

• 1 tspn dried oregano

• A few sprigs of fresh thyme; leaves stripped from stems, chopped

• The juice and pulp of one fresh lemon

• A small glass (125ml) of dry white wine (optional)

• 2 tspns Italian anchovy sauce (or Worcestershire sauce)

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

  
  

Side dishes

I'm serving it here with a very simple salad of little gem lettuce, peas shoots and chives, simply dressed with pepper, extra virgin olive oil and balsamico, but any number of simple side salads work with this dish.

Cooking Method

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the risotto with red peppers, spinach and pancetta

1. Cook your red peppers first, in a separate frying pan with a lid. You can even do this days before and store in the fridge before cooking your risotto. Add approx. 1tbspn of olive oil to the pan and heat on a low-medium heat. Add the red peppers and sauté, stirring regularly. When they show first signs of softening add 2 chopped cloves of garlic and stir in. When the aroma releases, add the anchovy sauce and the lemon juice and pulp. Reduce to a low heat, cover and allow the red peppers to simmer in the juice, stirring occasionally. When cooked but still al dente, remove the lid and allow any remaining liquid to cook off. Remove from the heat and place to the side

2. In the pot or deep frying pan with a lid you will use to cook your risotto, add 1tbspn of the olive oil and heat on a medium heat—slightly more if you are using a very lean meat. Add the pancetta cubes and gently fry until they crisp. (NB: you want the pancetta fairly crisp, especially if it has a high fat content. It will soften a little in the risotto, but you want to ensure the texture isn't too fatty in the final dish). Reduce to a low-medium heat. Remove from the pot with a sieve spoon, leaving all fats and juices in the pot, and place to one side

3. Add additional olive oil to the pot—how much exactly you will need will depend on the quantity of fat and juices left by the pancetta. For example, with the particular pancetta I'm using, I needed only a teaspoon of oil. Add the onions and sauté for 2mins, then add the celery and stir in. Sauté together for another 2mins, then add the remaining garlic. As soon as the aromas release, add the white wine and deglaze with a wooden spatula or spoon (use some of the hot stock if not using the wine). Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally until almost all the liquid has cooked off

4. Add the unwashed rice to the pot and stir in, allowing it to "toast" for a few minutes. Stir almost constantly so that it does not burn

5. Add 300ml of the hot stock to the pot and stir in, scraping the bottom of the pot to release any sticking rice. Increase the heat slightly, bringing to a gentle simmer. Cover and simmer until the liquid has reduced by about one third, stirring regularly. This usually takes about 8 to 10mins depending on your stove

6. Add the red peppers (and any juices), the thyme, and dried oregano. Add a further 100ml of the stock. Stir in and allow it to simmer, uncovered, stirring regularly to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pot.

7. When the liquid has reduced by approx. half, add the pancetta back into the pot. At this point, taste a fews grains of rice to see how cooked they are. If it is still fairly hard—often the case at this point—add the remaining stock and stir in

8. From this point, you will need to stir the pot almost constantly until the rice is optimally cooked to prevent the risotto from sticking. Add little dashes of hot water if needed if the liquid cooks off too quickly before the rice is perfectly cooked. This usually takes about 20mins if you are doing it properly. Remember, "al dente risotto" is a misleading concept thanks to the posturing of some TV chefs: rice always needs to be fully cooked. Risotto rice, should still have a little "chew"but never be left uncooked at the centre of the grains.

9. Once the rice is perfectly cooked, remove from the heat, cover and allow to rest for a few minutes. If you want to go for the indulgently rich experience, you can mix in knobs of butter and grated parmesan cheese or bombas at this point—you can learn more about these on this page. I personally don't because I don't think it is needed here

10. Plate and take to table with any side dishes and hard cheese such as Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano with which to dress it if you wish

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Alternatives

If you simply bypass the pancetta, use vegetable stock, and use mushroom ketchup instead of anchovy sauce when cooking the red peppers, this is a fantastic vegan dish as long as you use carnaroli rice, which is naturally very creamy. And, indeed, it's one of the risotti I most often cook for for vegans. Sometimes I will add sliced mushrooms at the stage of cooking the soffritto of onions and celery, just to bring in the more earthy flavours, though the use of mushroom ketchup brings them in subtly already. Obviously, lactovegetarians can add the hard cheese such as parmesan at the end if they wish.

I have made great pescatarian versions of this dish, red peppers working particularly well with large prawns, (smoked) mussels or squid. Obviously, depending on which you use, you will need to add them at slightly different stages. Also, if I am doing a pescatarian version, I use a decent fish stock instead of chicken or vegetable.

Pairings

This dish definitely works with either white of red wines. While I will never remember the names of those excellent small-batch red wines with which this dish was first paired—and I doubt I could get them outside of Italy even if I could remember them—the stand-out pairing I remember most vividly was with Villa Dianella “Il Matto delle Giuncaie”, 2020. This wine was astounding with this dish, but then again, so would it be with many other dishes. On the whole I think a Sangiovese, a Piedmontese Barbera or a Montepulciano d'Abruzzo are the best routes to go, especially if you are doing the version with larger amounts of smoked pancetta or serving it in colder weather.

On warmer summer evenings, I have particularly enjoyed this dish with with lightly chilled La Valentina Pecorino Bianco and Citra Ferzo Pecorino Abruzzo Superiore, which I think is probably my favourite wine so far with this dish; mineral-led which works nicely with the subtle smoky and deeper herb flavours, but enough citrus, white fruit and acidity to cut through the creaminess. I have only gone for Italian whites because of location when cooking it, but I'm sure there are plenty of white wines with a similar character from around the world that would work well. On this occasion, I am having it with a workaday Pecorino from the local supermarket which also worked well.

I have never tried this dish with beer, and I'm not sure I would go there. So I am going to sit this one out, though I am sure aficionados would be able to guide you, whether something heavier for autumn or lighter for warmer weather.

For booze-free options, I really like this dish with a Germanic apfelschorle—absolutely no idea why but there is something about apple and thyme that works—or simply sparkling water with a slice of lemon.