Multi-option risotto

There's nothing like a bit of comfort food on a bank holiday weekend. Sunday's can be a bit depressing - after all even if you love your job it's still not quite the same as swanning around town over the weekend - luckily it's bank holiday so I've been able to stay up a bit later to write. Risotto is one of the ultimate comfort foods in my opinion. The carb aspect goes without saying, having a creaminess to the dish helps even more. The fantastic thing about risotto is you can chuck pretty much anything in you like - mushroom is one of my favourites!

Chicken and Spinach Risotto

(or Chicken and Lemon depending on your available ingredients!)

Ingredients:

400g risotto rice (I use arborio)

1 white onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

100-250ml white wine or vermouth (I used 100ml vermouth on this occasion as it was all I had available but you can add as much or as little as you like and top up with stock)

2 pints of chicken or vegetable stock (you might need a bit extra if you are using less wine)

400g chicken breast, poached in the stock you will be using then chopped into bite sized pieces

Spinach (I used 5 cubes of frozen and defrosted but a bag of fresh is great)

20g coconut oil (flavourless is better if possible)

80g butter

Juice of two lemons

150g parmesan cheese plus extra to grate over the top

Salt and pepper

Method:

Poach your chicken in advance and set aside to cool, I used mini-fillets and cooked them for only about 5-8 minutes. Make sure you do reserve the stock you poach them in as it will be perfect for cooking your risotto.

Heat your coconut oil on a medium heat, once hot add 20g of butter and sweat your onions and garlic off. You do not want them to colour just to soften so I add a pinch of salt here too to help draw the moisture out.

Add your risotto rice, coat in the oil and allow to cook for a couple of minutes. This will toast off the grains and give them a nuttier flavour.

Once toasted pour in your wine and stir slowly to allow it to absorb.

Add your stock ladleful at a time, stirring slowly and allowing to absorb each time. Don't stir too vigorously or you will be left with a claggy mess. I think the best way to cook risotto is make sure you are drinking a glass of wine at the same time. It gives you the right relaxed atmosphere of keeping an eye but not obsessively stirring away - I'm sure there is healthier advice out there but that's my method!

Taste it as you are getting towards the last few ladlefuls - you want a bit of bite to the rice but no starchy quality left. Once you are nearly there add in your chicken to allow it to heat back through.

At this point you can decide how many extras you want to add - if you are going for Chicken and Lemon you just need to let the rice finish cooking, stir through your lemon juice, remaining butter and parmesan then leave to stand with a lid on for 5 minutes.

Alternatively if you want to add more then stir through your other ingredients, I've used spinach here but peas or mushrooms would also be great. Once these are incorporated you can continue as above - I'd lose the lemon if you're going for mushrooms but with both others it will work well.

Once you've left it to stand this is your last chance to adjust and taste for seasoning, you might want to add more parmesan here or a bit more stock if it seems too set.

Serve up, top with more parmesan and a good grinding of black pepper.

Chicken and Lemon Risotto

Chicken and Spinach Risotto