Last weekend we went, along with lots of dancers and other parents, to Figaro’s Italian restaurant in Pickering for a little panto dancers party between shows. We had all pre-ordered so that food would be served soon after had arrived and settled into our seats to ensure a fast turn around for those going back to the theatre to dance in the evening performance. I had ordered lasagna, principally to benchmark it again my own lasagna that I hold in such high regard.
To be honest as nice as the restaurant lasagna was it wasn’t, in my opinion, as good as my own. I looked around at those who had ordered risotto and was a little envious that I hadn’t ordered it. We don’t have risotto often at home so it would have made a nice change. So, I resolved that within a week I would make a risotto for the family. Today was the day.
It’s pretty straight forward to make and I had prepared the stock last Sunday by boiling up the chicken carcass from the roast dinner with some celery, onion and carrot. Here’s the ingredients for a chicken and mushroom risotto for our family of 6.
- 500g risotto rice
- 1 large onion 0 diced
- 250g mushrooms – sliced
- 3/4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
- 4 chicken breast
- 1.5l chicken stock
- 2tbspolive oil
- salt & black pepper to season
The method is pretty easy really….
- Cook the chicken (oven, pan fry, poach – your choice) and cut into 1cm cubes
- Heat the oil in a large pan then fry the onions over a medium heat for a minute or so, until their softening
- Add the risotto rice and cook for a minute, stirring all the time, until it is coated in the oil (don’t let it go brown!)
- Add the garlic, mushrooms and chicken chicken and half of the stock and stir, simmer over a medium heat.
- As the rice soaks up the stock keep adding more stock until it’s used up.
- Test the rice, it should be soft but not mushy. If its still a little too hard add some boiling water and cook a little longer
- Add salt and pepper to taste
I served our with some garlic ciabatta and it was very filling indeed. I really enjoyed it, not sure about the younger girls as it was new for them but the teenagersaurus’ loved it.
Thanks for reading.
Love risotto and that one sounds just lovely #Blogstravaganza
I do do but don’t make it enough. Thanks for reading.
This looks very yummy! We’re making a real effort to cook over here, so I’ll definitely be trying this out! Thanks so much for sharing with #Blogstravaganza xx
I love risotto we have it quite often at home, although I’m yet to persuade the children to eat it! I will note down your recipe for next time we have it! #blogstravaganza
It’s a tough sell on kids. But, like anything I put it in front of them and ask them to at least try it.