Chicken and Mushroom Risotto

About this Recipe...

Risotto is a creamy, rich Italian rice dish which is made from arborio rice, vegetable or meat stock and white wine. For the toppings, you can use vegetables, mushroom, seafood and any kind of meat. This is my husband's favorite item whenever we visited any Italian restaurant. So I decided to make this Italian delicacy at home. I tried this recipe with different variations, every time I make it, I used different toppings and he loves it. So today I thought to pen-down this Chicken-Mushroom recipe for my blog.

Wine gives a very distinct and authentic flavor to this dish, as traditionally white wine is a must ingredient of this recipe. But this time I don't have wine in my pantry so made this risotto without wine. But it turns equally good. It has all the flavor of chicken, chicken stock, mushroom and veggies which takes this dish to an another level of tastes. So do try it at home, if you want to add wine then go ahead. If you are serving it to your kids then don't add wine and follow the exact recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Arborio rice
• 1/2 Cup Chicken thighs cut into small cubes
• Salt to taste
• Black pepper powder to taste
• 1 tsp Red chilli powder
• Olive oil
• 1 tsp Dried oregano
• 1 tsp Dry thyme
• 2 cloves of Garlic finely chopped
• 1/2 Cup Onion finely chopped
• 1/2 Cup Chopped celery
• 1/4 Cup Red bell pepper chopped
• 1 Cup Mushroom sliced
• 1/4 Cup Porcini mushroom
• 2 Cups Chicken stock
• 1/2 Cup Frozen green peas
• 2 Tbsp Salted butter
• 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Rinse and wash the arborio rice and drain the water.
2. Now in a pot boil some water, when the water will moderately hot, remove the pot from the flame and add porcini mushroom to it.
3. Dissolve the mushroom in the water for 10 minutes and then take it out from the water.
4. Chop it roughly and keep it aside.
5. Keep that mushroom stock, we will use it for making the risotto.
6. Now in a pan, heat olive oil and add chicken pieces. Fry it until it gets light brown color.
7. Season it with salt and pepper and take it out from the pan.
8. On the same pan, heat some more oil and add sliced mushroom to it. Sauté it till it gets cooked nicely.
9. Now add the porcini mushroom to it and Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper. Mix it well and stir it.
10. Take it out from pan and keep aside.
11. Meanwhile in an another pan, add 2 cups of chicken stock and boil it.
12. Now in a pan, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil and add chopped garlic to it and sauté it for a minute.
13. Now add chopped onion, celery and bell pepper, sauté it till it gets translucent.
14. Now add all the dry herbs, salt, pepper and red chili powder to taste.
15. Mix everything nicely and add arborio rice to it.
16. Sauté the rice for couple of minutes and then add the mushroom stock to it.
17. Stir it frequently until the stock has been absorbed into the rice.
18. Now add half cup of heated chicken stock to it and stir frequently until absorbed. The rice and stock should bubble gently.
19. Continue to cook the rice by adding half cup chicken stock at a time and allowing the rice to absorb it before adding the next half cup stock.
20. Cook the rice in this way until the rice gets tender. This process will take 18-20 minutes.
21. While adding the last batch of stock, also add the chicken, mushroom, green peas, butter and Parmesan cheese to it.
22. Stir it gently and switch off the flame and cover the lid for 10 minutes before serving the risotto.
23. After 10 minutes open the lid, you will see that the stock has been absorbed and the thick creamy risotto is ready to serve.
24. Serve it hot with a glass of wine.