Chicken, Mushroom and Baby Spinach Risotto
Regarding a previous post, Mushroom, Tomato, Spinach & Sausage Risotto, I’ve made another variation using the same basic recipe with some changes.
You can use chicken, diced (or cut into strips), instead of the sausages. The tomatoes are optional in this variation. See below for changed recipe.
Ingredients (makes 5 servings)
* 3 tablespoons butter, olive oil, or a combination of both
* 1/2 brown onion, diced
* 1 tsp minced garlic
* 3/4 cup vermouth (a sweet kind of white wine)
* 2.5 cups Arborio rice (Brown rice works well as a tasty alternative, but the risotto will take longer to cook)
* 2 cups semi-dried tomatoes (optional)
* 1 1/4 cup baby spinach leaves
* 5 cups of mushrooms (diced)
* 7.5 cups stock (chicken or vegetable, or a mix of both)
* A little parsley
* A bit over 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (extra for garnishing if you so desire)
* 300g chicken breast, diced or cut into strips
* All-purpose seasoning (Masterfoods brand is good)
* Salt and pepper to season
Directions
1) First, set your rice cooker to “Quick Cook” or “Regular” and let the surface of the rice-cooker pot heat up for a minute or two. Add the butter or olive oil to the pot and use a wooden spoon or a silicone spatula to spread it across the surface of the pot. When the oil is heated, add the onion and garlic and stir to coat with the oil. Saute, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and turns translucent. This should take about 4 to 5 minutes.
2) Pour in the vermouth and stir to combine. Cook for a few minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate and the wine to heat up and reduce a little.
3) Add the rice to the pot and stir to coat the grains of rice completely with the wine. Saute, stirring frequently, until the rice starts to absorb the wine. The rice will eventually become translucent around the edges, with a small white dot remaining. This means it’s ready for the stock, but before you add this, add the vegetables (except the baby spinach) and saute them for a minute, stirring occasionally.
4) Pour in the stock, all at once, and stir to combine it with the rice.
5) Close the lid on the rice cooker. If your cooker has a porridge setting, set it for this. If it is an on-off cooker, or only has a “Regular” setting (like mine), then use that setting. Either way, set a timer for 10 minutes.
6) After 10 minutes, check on the rice and give it a stir to recombine the ingredients. Set the timer for 15 mins. Then, in a frying pan, fry chicken over medium-high heat until cooked, seasoning with season-all. Set aside, and then fry the mushrooms (as much or little as you like), seasoning with season-all and a little parsley. Set aside.
7) When the timer goes off, check on the risotto. If there is still a lot of liquid remaining, and the rice is still hard in the middle, cook it a longer. If it’s looking too dry and still not cooked, add a little more water and keep cooking. The rice should be tender, but still have a little “bite” to it, what the Italians refer to as al dente. And there should be enough liquid remaining to make it just slightly soupy (see end note for more advice).
8) When risotto is cooked, add chicken and mushrooms, stir in the cheese, season with salt and pepper, stirring it in to combine. Close the lid and let the risotto sit for a minute.
9) Season with parmesan cheese if desired.
End note: In my experience, you need to be patient with how long it can take to cook the risotto at this step, as 5 servings is quite a lot to cook. You may need to cook it for up to 45-60 min. Make sure to give it a stir every 10-15min so the rice on the bottom doesn’t burn (I’ve made this mistake before!).
Tags: chicken, gluten free, pan fried, risotto, steamed