Chicken Risotto
For a quick dinner that is perfect for using up those leftovers sitting in the fridge, a risotto can transform slim pickings into something fit for a king without too much fuss.
Ingredients
- 165g cold leftover chicken (55g per person)
- 20g dried wild mushrooms
- 25g shallot(1)
- 60g celery (1 stick)
- 165g Arborio rice (55g per person)
- 800ml chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon crème fraîche
- 40g unsalted butter
- 100ml white wine
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4
Method
- Peel the shallot and chop it with the celery into fine cubes. Flake the chicken meat and open the packet of dried wild mushrooms.
- Put the dried mushrooms into a bowl and soak them in enough hot water to cover them.
- In a saucepan heat the butter until it is foaming then tip in the shallot and rice. Give it a good stir for about 2 minutes until the shallot begins to take on a little colour.
- Pour in the white wine and give it a good stir until all of the wine has been absorbed.
- Drain the mushrooms and pour in the liquid with in a ladle of the stock. Give it a good stir and keep stirring it at regular intervals until almost all of the stock has been absorbed. Then pour in another ladle of stock.
- Keep repeating the process of adding stock and stirring it at regular intervals until the stock has been absorbed.
- Just before you are about to put in the last of the stock, put about 10g of the butter into a frying pan over a medium heat.
- Put the mushrooms into the frying pan and fry them for 2 minutes.
- Once the last of the stock has been absorbed, fold the mushrooms and the rest of the ingredients into the risotto and season it with salt & pepper. The risotto should have a loose feel to it, if it is too stiff, add a small amount of extra stock.
- Once all the ingredients are hot, it is ready to serve. We served it with parmesan shavings, rocket leaves and a drizzle of olive oil.
Useful Information
Can it be frozen? No.
Can it be prepared in advance? No.
Will leftovers be nice? Yes, for up to 2 days.
Notes
- Risotto can have anything you like in it, although if you start adding chocolate it would become more like rice pudding.
- This business of “Al Dente” is all very well but really it is down to your own personal taste. If you like undercooked rice then so be it.