Quick and easy

“Is a north Italian rice dish cooked in a broth to a creamy consistency. The broth can be derived from meat, fish, or vegetable. Many types of risotto contain butter, wine and onion. It is one of the most common ways of cooking rice in Italy.”

Apart from Asian food being my number one choice, Italian food comes in second place. Dad being half Italian, I guess this explains why I’m always craving this diverse, yet homey style of cuisine? I learnt how to make risotto back at Le Cordon Bleu during my first semester. Usually risotto rice is cooked and served al dente but my asian side obviously prefers rice to be well cooked.

You will need:

350g risotto rice
1 onion
1 garlic
Drizzle olive oil
Bunch of mushroom
4 pieces of chicken breast
1 chicken stock
Drizzle white wine
Sprig of thyme
50g butter
50g parmesan
Salt
Pepper

In a small pan, prepare the stock by adding water, thyme and chicken stock and leave it to infuse on a gentle low heat. Chop both onion, garlic and thinly slice the chicken pieces and mushrooms. In another pan, sweat the onions with olive oil till soften before adding the garlic on medium to low heat. Add the risotto rice, white wine and a ladle of infused chicken stock, cooking it for 2 minutes to coat the rice, then adding the chicken and mushroom. Keep adding the stock of ladle at a time, stirring continuously. Season the risotto and pick the thyme leaves, to give it a creamier texture, add butter, stir, then giving a final seasoning check. The rice should be al dente, which means it takes 10 minutes or less to cook. Garnish the rice with grated parmesan cheese.