Chicken, mushroom and broccoli risotto

Posted by Leigh Stefanski on 21 May 2009

Risotto is one of my absolute favourite winter meals – it’s heart-warming and so delicious. The flavours in this recipe combine beautifully!

You’ll need: (Serves 4 well!)
2 cups Arborio rice (Risotto rice)
1 litre chicken stock
1 cup white wine (In the words of Floyd – if it’s not good enough to drink, it’s not good enough to cook with!)
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
cup grated Parmesan cheese (plus extra for sprinkling)
4 free-range chicken breasts, cubed
1/2 punnet broccoli, stems removed and cut to the tiny stems
2 sprigs thyme
2 large black mushrooms, halved and sliced
2 strong arms (plus extra if required)
A dose of patience, you can’t rush this

Here’s how:
Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a non-stick frying pan and quick-fry your chicken until lightly browned. Remove from the heat and set aside. Add 1 tbsp of butter plus your mushrooms to the same pan and fry until soft. Remove and add with all the juices to the chicken.

Combine the stock and white wine in a pot and simmer gently. Run the sprigs of thyme quickly between your palms to release the oils and add to the stock.

Heat the remaining oil and butter in a separate large pot then saut the onion until translucent. Add the rice and stir briskly until all the rice is coated and starting to turn translucent as well. Add one cup of the stock and stir until the liquid is absorbed. Add another cup plus the chicken and mushrooms plus all the juices and stir until absorbed.

Here comes the fun part keep adding your stock one cup at a time and stirring until the liquid gets absorbed. Switch arms regularly and have an assistant nearby to take over from time to time (this is the point where I hand the spoon over to Rijk and run away – thanks love). But whatever you do, don’t stop stirring!

After about 35 minutes, you should be nearing the end of your stock and your rice should be getting soft and very sticky. If it’s not, you can add more water or stock if needed. Add the last cup of stock plus the Parmesan and broccoli then go for the stirring home run. Give it horns! By the time the last of the liquid is absorbed, your chicken will be in strands and the rice should still have individual grains but be soft, sticky and ready to eat.

Sprinkle with black pepper and Parmesan and enjoy it with a glass of wine (if you haven’t finished the bottle already). You’ve well-earned this meal but it is so worth it!

Yours in food
Leigh

Did you know:
Broccoli originated in Italy 2000 years ago. The name comes from the Italian piccoli bracci, meaning “little arms”.

The original name for Parmesan cheese is Parmigiano-Reggiano. It is named after the producing areas of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, in Emilia-Romagna and Mantova in Italy. The French word, Parmesan, is used loosely in English, referring to many Parmesan-style cheeses imitating the Italian original.

Love to make Risotto too? What’s your flavour? I also like butternut and blue cheese as well as red capsicum, corn and chicken. Three mushrooms is also amazing!

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