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Bacon Scallop Risotto

easy bacon scallop risotto

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This luscious recipe for bacon scallop risotto nestles tender sea scallops in a bed of creamy cheesy rice for a seafood supper that is dinner party worthy!

Ingredients

Scale
  • ¼ pound bacon, chopped
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • ½ sweet onion, peeled and chopped
  • 1 cup Arborio rice
  • ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for garnish
  • Sea salt and black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 12 sea scallops (I usually serve three per person, but feel free to add or subtract as you like!)
  • Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Instructions

  1. Cook a quarter pound of chopped bacon in a medium pot (yes, pot!) over medium high heat until it is nice and crispy, about 10 minutes. Scoop out the bacon and drain on paper towels, leaving the drippings in the pot.
  2. Put 4 cups of chicken broth in a medium pot and bring it to a simmer.  (You can also heat it in a large measuring cup in the microwave…90 seconds should do it).
  3. While the broth is heating, put half of a peeled and chopped onion in the pot with the bacon drippings and stir until the onion is softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in a cup of arborio rice and cook for another couple of minutes.
  4. Ladle in about a cup of the heated broth and stir.  Simmer the rice until the broth is almost all absorbed.  Repeat with the remaining broth, one cup at a time, until the rice is creamy and tender (this will take about 15 to 20 minutes).
  5. Stir in a tablespoon of butter and a quarter cup of Parmesan cheese, give it all a stir and set it aside while you make the scallops!
  6. Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and season both sides of 12 scallops with a little salt and pepper.
  7. Add the scallops to the skillet and sear on one side for about 3 minutes. Don’t move them once they are in the pan to get a nice firm sear.
  8. Turn the scallops over (tongs work best for this) and add three tablespoons of butter.. Stir the butter around and drizzle some of it over the scallops. Do this for about 2 minutes until the butter starts turns brown.
  9. Stir the bacon into the risotto and divide it among warmed plates.  Top each plate with three scallops, a drizzle of butter drippings from the scallop skillet, a sprinkling of Parmesan and a little chopped parsley and serve it up!

Equipment We Used to Make This Recipe

Notes

Need to add something to your kitchen equipment to make this recipe? Below are some of the items we used in the Framed Cooks kitchen to help cook this up. These are affiliate links to things we use and love, which helps to pay for all that bacon I keep buying (without any extra cost to you)!  Thanks for using them to keep our kitchen cooking…xoxo!