Kale and bacon risotto with cheddar and herbs nest

I'm back after my Parisian break (work not pleasure unfortunately) and after having od'd on steak and mustard thought it was time for a bit of yummy carbs. After my orange cravings I am now obsessed with everything green... therefore the kale which is also really good for you, or so it seems! I bough my veggies from Chapel market and bacon was also from a local farmer so added some extra goodness to the risotto. I topped it off with a cheddar and herbs crunchy nest, very spectacular and sooo easy to make.

Ingredients (serves 3)

2 large glasses of Arborio or Carnaroli rice
Half a large onion
4 bunches of Kale
4 slices of bacon
50 g. of butter
Freshly grated Parmesan as needed
Extra virgin oil as needed
Salt and pepper as needed
Half a pack of grated cheddar
A Spoonful of dried Sage and Rosemary
A vegetable stock pot

Rinse and chop the Kale, chop half of a large onion and cook in a pan with some olive oil until it turns golden.

Add the kale and cook it adding some salt an pepper until it releases some of the water. Add the chopped bacon and cook with the vegetables for a few minutes. Add the rice and some more olive oil and toast it slightly. In the meantime bring some water to boil and pour it in another pan with the vegetable stock pot, stir and leave it to simmer on a slow fire. Pour some stock in the pan with the rice, kale and bacon until the risotto is completely covered and stir continously. In the meantime mix some grated cheddar with the herbs in a bowl.  Pour some oil in a frying pan and grease the pan, absorbing the oil in excess with a paper towel. Cheese is fat enough so you don't need the extra grease, that will weigh your nests down and you want them to be extra crispy! Place some of the cheddar and herbs mixture in a pan and press it with a spoon in the shape of a disc. Cook turning it on both sides until crispy and golden and leave to cool on a paper towel. Risotto cooks in about 18-20 minutes, keep on stirring it adding a bit of stock so it doesn't stick to the pan. The last 5 minutes or so stop adding stock and add the butter and some grated parmesan. This will give it the creamy texture we call "mantecato". Sprinkle the risotto with some more parmesan and serve with the cheddar and herbs nest.