Ingredients
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion , chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
350g risotto rice
1 small glass white wine
1l hot stock - kept at a low simmer
2 chicken breasts - either use leftover chicken to about this quantity or chop and fry some fresh meat
1 tbsp thyme leaf
200g frozen peas
1 tbsp crème fraîche
2 tbsp grated Parmesan, plus extra to serve
- Heat oil n a medium flame in a large pan and cook the onion and garlic until soft (about 5 mins).
- Turn up the heat, Stir in the rice and cook for 1 min more, until it starts to look transparent.
- Pour in the wine and keep stirring until all the liquid is absorbed. If using dried thyme add it now
- Add the stock a ladle full at a time and stir vigorously into the rice - you are trying to break the outer husk in part here.
- When the majority of that ladle of stock is absorbed by the rice, add another. Keep adding and stirring until the rice is just tender.and most ofr all the stock has been used - this will take about 20 mins
- Stir through the chicken, thyme (if using fres) and peas, then cook for 2 mins or until the peas are warmed through.
- Add the crème fraîche and Parmesan and stir through to mix. Check for seasoning, then remove from the heat. Cover with a lid and leave to stand for 2 mins before serving with extra Parmesan, if you like.
Method
Risotto is a versatile dish for absorbing leftovers and turning them into a treat. A lot of people shy away from it because it is labour intensive, but try it a few times and you will find that it is not really that bad. It is relatively quick (about half an hour) and as long as you stir the rice when you ad fresh stock vigorously enough to help break the rice grains then you wil be ok and really dont need to stir continually - but you do need to keep an eye open for when to add more stock. So if you arent going to be in the kitchen doing other things for that 30 minutes then pass this by for another day.
The reason I made this today are two fold - first of all the youngest asked for it (she loves it) and secondly I had an open bottle of white wine left from Sunday Lunch. The glass of wine in this dish does add a layer of flavour and is important - and it usually the availability of a glass of white wine as a leftoer that ictates when I make this rather than any specific solid food. Strange but there you have it. On the other hand you might want to make this so that you have to open a bottle of white - which it would then be sill to leave standing around to go off. Your choice.
Naturally this Risotto bianco (what you get before you add the protein and vegetable ingredients in the recipe below) can be used to carry pretty much any combination of things you have as leftovers from a roast dinner - o ham and peas are good for example or ham and leeks - any combination of meat and veg that worked for sunday lunch in fact. Use them instead of what is listed here and make your own way. It uses leftovers in a more imaginative way and tastes great.