Servings
4
Ready In:
30 mins
Good For:
Lunch, supper, dinner or pot-luck
Ingredients
- 350g arborio rice
- 1 lit hot chicken stock OR 3 tsp stock powder + 1 lit hot water
- 2 chicken breasts- bone and skin removed
- 2 sticks rosemary
- 20ml olive oil
- 2 onions- finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic- peeled and smashed
- 1 leek- finely diced
- 120g frozen peas
- 1 tsp fresh tarragon- chopped (optional)
- 2tsp fresh parsley- chopped (optional)
- 50g frozen sweetcorn kernels
- 120g spinach leaves
- 90g butter- room temperature
- 25g parmesan-finely grated
- 1 lemon- juice only
- 20ml extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
- freshly milled black pepper
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
If you follow my techniques for making risotto it’ll be creamy but still light, and not heavy and greasy. During my time working in London, I’ve made hundreds of risottos.
In fact while working at Anton Mosimann’s most famous restaurant in Belgravia Square, ‘his private dining club’, I’d make a taster of mushroom risotto for each guest to consume between entrée and one of the main courses.
Step 2
Lets start by steaming the chicken. There’s enough fat in this dish that poaching or steaming would be the best method for cooking.
Cut the chicken breasts in half, season with salt and pepper and place them on top of greaseproof paper with a couple of rosemary sticks.
Place into a steamer and cook for 8-10mins while you cook the risotto. Remove from steamer once cooked.
Step 3
It’s always best to use a large pot for cooking risotto as you don’t want the rice too deep as this will cause it to unevenly cook.
On a high temperature, heat the pot for 1 min, add olive oil, onions, leeks and garlic, and cook for 2-3 mins until lightly softened.
Step 4
Add arborio rice to the pot, season lightly and stir through. Now when adding stock to risotto, always use hot stock and add enough stock to make the rice into a wet porridge consistency.
Now add some stock to just cover the rice. Always cook risotto on high temperature. You’ll have to stir it continuously. Once you’ve added stock to cover the rice, cook and stir until you have a dry porridge. Add more stock to make wet porridge.
Add stock to make wet porridge, cook down to dry porridge, now add more stock. Do this for 15mins.
Step 5
After 15mins cooking, stir through sweetcorn and peas. Season lightly. Chop the cooked chicken into a fine dice and add to the risotto.
The risotto will take between 20-25mins to cook. Continue adding hot stock to the rice, over a high heat until the rice has a little bite. The risotto wants to be a wet porridge consistency once the rice is cooked and with bite.
Once cooked, remove from the heat and cool for 3mins.
Step 6
Add spinach, parsley, tarragon, lemon, parmesan, butter and chiili. Sprinkle extra virgin oil and milled pepper over and cover with a lid for 2mins. Don’t stir through yet. After 2mins, stir through and adjust the seasoning.
Step 7
The consistency of the finished risotto should be like a creamy wet porridge that when portioned onto a plate or bowl should fall flat if the serving dish is lightly banged on its base.
Sprinkle cheese, lemon juice and milled pepper over.
Step 8
This dish can be made well in advance and heated when required. I made this risotto and turned it into arancini balls the following day.
We love risotto and all rice dishes in our household.
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