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Chicken Pancetta and Mushroom Risotto
Use good quality chicken stock, add to the rice one ladle at a time. Cook gently until all the liquid has disappeared before adding more stock. Cook the bacon (pancetta) until crispy. A nice recipe of chicken, bacon, mushrooms,peas, onion and rice risotto topped with cheese
Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
5 rashers of pancetta
500g chicken breast or thighs, skinned, deboned then diced
1 onion, finely diced
6 medium mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
1 stick of celery, finely diced
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon thyme
2 cups arborio or any risotto rice
1 1/2 to 2 litres of good quality chicken stock
1 cup peas
3 sprigs of mint
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon salt
l/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
Method
Bring the stock to a gentle simmer in a large saucepan, making sure not to let it boil. Add the peas and blanch for 2 minutes. Drain, reserving the stock for later.
Puree half the peas with a little stock and set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a non-stick pan and add the chicken. Cook until browned evenly (5 minutes), then remove from pan and set aside.
Now heat the remaining oil, butter and pancetta in the pan on medium. Cook until crispy, then remove and set aside, leaving the fat in the pan.
Add the onions to the pan and cook gently until almost translucent.
Add mushrooms, garlic, celery, lemon zest, thyme and continue to saute until very soft, making sure not to brown the ingredients (about 10 minutes).
Now add the rice to the onions and mix until oil has coated the rice. Cook for around 2 minutes or until the rice has changed colour slightly.
Add one ladle of the hot stock to the pan. Cook gently until the liquid has disappeared before adding the next ladleful.
Continue this process until almost all the stock has been incorporated (around 20-25 minutes).
When almost cooked add the chicken, peas, bacon, pea puree and half the cheese, stirring gently to combine. I like to add a knob of butter here, season and let it stand for 2 minutes.
To serve, place a generous portion into the centre of a bowl with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and a little extra virgin olive oil drizzled over the top
Serves 6
Preparation Time 30 minutes
Cooking Time 45 minutes
Recipe by Brett McGregor winner of MasterChef NZ 2010
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