Chicken Risotto

Admin
Aug 25, 2017
2 min read

Italian soggy-paella, more complicated, less wholesome, but still really tasty.

As you would expect from the Italians, it is more subtle than it's Spanish equivalent but far less feisty, however, if you like your rice creamy and oozy, then this is the dish for you!

Personally, I'll stick with a proper paella!

INGREDIENTS

250gr short-grain rice;

1 green pepper;

1 onion;

2 cloves of garlic;

2-3 rashers of bacon;

100gr chicken breast;

1 litre of chicken stock;

salt, pepper, olive oil;

50gr grated cheese;

50gr butter.

STEPS

1)Peel and finely chop the garlic, the peel and dice the onion, and roughly chop the green pepper;

2)Fry the vegetables on a low/med flame, in a pre-heated frying-pan with a tablespoon of olive oil;

3)Add a little salt in order to help the onion cook, and a pinch of salt.

4)Bring the stock to boil in a separate pan, and then lower the flame and allow it to simmer;

Check the stock for salt. It should taste "a little salty", as the rice will absorb a lot of the taste of salt later.

5)Whilst the vegetables gently fry, chop the chicken and bacon, then add them to the vegetables, giving them a quick stir;

6)When the onion becomes transparent (7-8min from starting to fry / 3-4min after adding the meat), the meat will have cooked, so you can add the rice;

7)Continue frying the rice until it starts to become transparent (+/- 3min), stirring regularly so the rice doesn't stick to the pan, then start to add the stock;

8)Start by gently adding 2 ladles of stock, stirring regularly until the rice has absorbed virtually all the stock, then repeat the operation, and continue doing so until the rice is soft and the sauce smooth and creamy;

The amount of sauce you leave is a matter of personal choice. I made the risotto smooth and creamy, but you can make it so that it oozes sauce by simply adding a little more stock.

It is IMPORTANT that you stir the rice almost continually! You want the rice to release starch in order to naturally thicken the sauce.

9)Add the grated cheese, and stir it into the risotto;

The "correct" cheese to add is parmesan cheese, but it is both expensive and no better than a lot of other cheeses that are available at half the price, so use whatever cheese you prefer.

10)Add the butter, and if you gently stir it into the risotto, it will give it a spectacular gloss;