Bacon Apple Risotto with Goat Cheese

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
2 slices bacon, chopped
1 medium apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 cups chicken broth, warm
2 ounces goat cheese

Directions

1. In a Farberware Neat Nest 3 Qt. Saucepot, add the chicken broth and heat until it is gently simmering. Put a lid on the pot and keep it simmering on the stove top.
2. In a Farberware Neat Nest 6 Qt. Saucepot, over medium heat on the stovetop, melt the butter. Add the chopped bacon and cook, stirring often, until the bacon is crisp. Remove the cooked bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper-towel lined plate.
3. Add the chopped apple to the pot with the melted butter and bacon fat and cook for about one minute. Add the rice and cook for about 1 minute more, to lightly toast the rice.
4. Add ½ cup of white wine to the rice mixture and cook, stirring the rice, for 2 - 3 minutes.
5. Add about 1 cup of the simmering chicken broth to the rice mixture. Simmer the rice, stirring occasionally, until most of the broth is absorbed.
6. Repeat this process until all four cups of the broth are cooked into the rice. The rice will be plump and tender but not mushy. This process will take about 25 minutes.
7. Turn the heat to low and stir in the goat cheese until it is melted into the risotto.
8. Top the risotto with the reserved, cooked bacon and additional crumbled goat cheese if desired. Serve.