Chicken & Mushroom Risotto Recipe

Those of you who follow me on twitter may have seen that we had a big clear-out in the kitchen this weekend.  We emptied every cupboard in turn and cleaned it out getting rid of any out of date stuff that had been forgotten about at the back and anything we don't use.  Turns out I had rather a few vases, half of which were never used - big pile of stuff ready for the charity shop.  It's so satisfying to have a proper spring clean like this and to suddenly have so much space in the cupboards!!

Anyway, we found 3 opened bags of arborio rice so I decided it would be risotto for dinner!  Nik went out to fetch the rest of the ingredients needed while I made a soup from some random lentils and veg found in the cupboard/fridge!  I did a quick search on-line to find a recipe to base the risotto on but again made up some of my own adjustments as follows...

Ingredients:
 25g butter
1 medium onion, very finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 chicken breasts, chopped into strips 
6-8 oyster mushrooms 
1 litre hot chicken stock 
300g risotto rice (I used arborio)
150ml dry white wine
200g fresh mushrooms cleaned and sliced (can be button but the dark flat mushrooms give a deeper flavour)
A little salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper 
20g of Parmesan cheese, grated (plus extra for shavings to serve)
1 tbsp Mascarpone

Method:

Melt the butter in a large pan on a medium heat and add the onion and garlic and cook gently for 3-4 minutes, until softened.

Add the chicken and cook gently until the pieces are turning lightly golden brown for 4-5 minutes. Add the rice and stir for a minute or so to coat it in the chicken-flavoured butter. Pour in 100ml of the white wine and let it bubble for a few minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate.

Add the mushrooms to the rice and stir well. Add the hot stock a ladle-full at a time, stirring well between each addition ensuring all the liquid has been absorbed.

Add the remaining 50ml of white wine and let it bubble for a few minutes so the alcohol evaporates.  Add the Parmesan cheese and Mascarpone and stir until melted.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

When the rice is tender and the risotto is thick and creamy remove from the heat and leave to rest for about 30 seconds, before garnishing with some shavings of Parmesan cheese.

I was really pleased how it turned out and will definitely be making it again.  We both had thirds!