Mushroom and Chicken Risotto

One of the things with Whitney being gone is that we are able to cook things that we know she doesn't like and that we do. This recipe combines a couple of them...mushrooms and rice. I had bought a clearanced book at Borders with chicken recipes from Food and Wine magazine.

Courtesy of Food and Wine Magazine

Mushroom and Chicken Risotto

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 pound mushrooms, cut into thin slices
2/3 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
5 1/2 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock, more if needed
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1.In a large pot, heat the butter over moderate heat. Add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms are browned, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and the pepper. Cook until the chicken is just done, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the mixture from the pan. In a medium saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer.

Chicken and Mushrooms

2.In the large pot, heat the oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir until it begins to turn opaque, about 2 minutes.

Risotto

3.Add the wine and the remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt to the rice. Cook, stirring frequently, until all of the wine has been absorbed. Add about 1/2 cup of the simmering broth and cook, stirring frequently, until it has been absorbed. The rice and broth should bubble gently; adjust the heat as needed. Continue cooking the rice, adding broth 1/2 cup at a time and allowing the rice to absorb it before adding the next 1/2 cup. Cook the rice in this way until tender, 25 to 30 minutes in all. The broth that hasn't been absorbed should be thickened by the starch from the rice. You may not need to use all the liquid, or you may need more broth or some water.

4.Stir in the chicken and mushrooms, the Parmesan, and the parsley and heat through. Serve the risotto with additional Parmesan.



Our finished product



Things I would change with this recipe is to cook the chicken separately and add more seasoning. By cooking in the same pot as the mushrooms it couldn't get brown and it lacked flavor. We used four cans of chicken broth because it always seems like our risotto is too thick. And I didn't have an onion so we used dried minced onion. We also don't like parsley so we didn't add any.

 

We have a similar recipe that uses italian sausage instead of chicken. I liked that the chunked chicken made it feel more like a meal than the tiny bits of sausage.