Chicken and Mushroom Risotto

    I bought a free-range roast chicken for this recipe.  Risotto is my children's favourite dish, with this homemade food I can have control over the amount of parmesan and oil used.




 Recipe from: Taste.com 
 Ingredients (slight alteration)

  2.5L (10 cups) Real Chicken Stock
  40g butter
  125ml (1/2 cup) olive oil ( I reduced quite a bit )
  2 brown onions, finely chopped
  880g (4 cups) Arborio Risotto Rice
  1 and 1/2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves ( I used dried parsley instead)
  125ml (1/2 cup) dry white wine
  6 (about 500g) chicken thigh fillets, cut into 1 cm pieces
  200g button mushrooms, cut into 1 cm pieces
  4 garlic cloves, crushed
  120g ( 1 and 1/2 cups) finely grated parmesan  ( I reduced quite a bit, adjust to your own taste)

Main ingredients

Stir try mushroom, garlic, chicken.
Set aside.

Cook, stir with ladleful of stock, keep doing that until it turns glassy, tender yet firm and creamy.

Yes, it is worth the waiting!
Yummy!

    Method
    1.  Bring the stock just to the boil in a large saucepan. Reduce heat and hold at a gentle simmer.

    2.  Heat butter and 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy- based stockpot over medium heat.  Add the onions. Cook, stirring for 5 minutes or until soft  and translucent. Add rice and 1 tbsp thyme. Cook, stir for 1 minute or until the grains appear slightly glassy.

    3.  Add wine to rice mixture and cook, stirring, until the liquid is absorbed. Add a ladleful ( 1/2 cup) of stock to the rice and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the liquid is absorbed. Continue adding the stock mixture, a ladle at a time, stirring constantly and allowing the liquid to be absorbed before adding the next ladleful, for 20 to 30 minutes or until the rice is tender yet firm to the bite and the risotto is creamy.

    4.  Heat remaining oil in a large pan over high heat. Add the chicken and stir-fry for 5 minutes or until the chicken just start to brown. Add mushroom and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes.

    5.  Add the chicken mixture, parmesan and remaining thyme to the risotto and combine. Season with salt and pepper to serve.

    Note: I bought a free-range roast chicken for this recipe.