Risotto is one of those dishes you need a good arm for. You can oven bake a risotto and you can literally chuck everything in a pan and let its do its thing, but a proper risotto is best done by slowly adding stock and wine(recipe dependant) and constantly stirring to get a creamy dish at the end of it without the need to add cream or cheese, however adding cheese and cream is totally up to the individual to do, some Parmesan stirred through at the end can really change the dish.
We use proper white wine in this recipe but you can substitute it for a white wine stock pot if you prefer and don’t wish to use alcohol, but the wine does give it a better flavour.
Some recommended items from our kitchen to make this dish…
- Double sided dry and liquid measuring spoons for times when you need to measure both liquid and dry ingredients.
- A decent set of knives for chopping, with a knife sharpener which is always handy.
- A big time saver for chopping veg with a veg chopper, from onions to carrots this is a god send to chop quickly.
- I love our ladle, it has a mini strainer on one side.
**NOTE: just a quick note about the seasoning we use in this dish, we have used a spice kit available from SpiceNTice which have all the spices you need all included in one kit so we don’t need to rummage through the spice cupboard for lots of different ones. Their spice kits and rubs are all Slimming Club friendly (Slimming World, Weight Watchers, Calorie counting etc). For 10% off your order you can use our code HICKMAN10 at the checkout.
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Serves 6
INGREDIENTS:
- 300g risotto rice
- 1.5 litres chicken stock
- 175ml white wine, 10.5 – 12.5% vol
- 1 medium white onion, diced
- 1 small butternut squash, chopped into bite size pieces
- Handful brussel sprouts, halved (Optional)
- 500g chicken, chopped into bite sized pieces
- 8 slices smoked back bacon, fat removed and diced
- 2 teaspoons SpiceNTice chimichuri rub (** See note above about this rub)
METHOD:
- Bring the stock to a boil and add the chimichuri seasoning and simmer on a low heat to keep hot.
- In a heavy bottomed pan fry the chicken and bacon until cooked through and browned, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside for now.
- Meanwhile in the pan gently fry the onion, squash and sprouts (if using) with a few spoonful’s of the stock for a few minutes until the water evaporates.
- Reduce the heat and stir in the rice adding a ladle of stock with it. Bring to a simmer and stir until the stock is absorbed, add another ladle and stir again until absorbed again, repeat this process until you have a small amount of stock remaining. Add the wine and continue to stir until all liquid is absorbed. Give the rice a taste to see if its cooked enough and that the vegetables are cooked to your liking, if it needs longer add the remaining stock and again stir until absorbed. If it needs a little longer keep adding boiling water until it is done.
- Stir the cooked chicken and bacon we set aside through the rice and heat everything through. Taste to see if it needs salt and pepper and add as required.
- Serve alongside a salad and some freshly shaved Parmesan if you wish and a wedge of lemon to squeeze over the top.
Hickmans Slim Kitchen 