Mind-blowing Risotto

I really don't think you can beat a good risotto. They're filling and tasty and can be pimped with just about anything you have lying around in the fridge or cupboard. The only problem is the fact that they're notoriously tricky to perfect. Not any more! As long as you're willing to put in a bit of time and affection, a truly spectacular risotto will be yours!

For this particular recipe, I used some leftover chicken from our roast dinner over the weekend and some mushrooms that needed using up. For extra flavour, and a sort of "secret ingredient" I like to finish off my risottos with a couple of teaspoons of ready made (or homemade!) pesto.

Mind-blowing Chicken and Mushroom Risotto
Serves 5-6

15g butter
125g mushrooms (I used a mixture of chesnut and wild mushrooms)
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
250g risotto rice
glass of white wine (I actually used prosecco because that's what we had leftover - ooer!)
1 litre of hot chicken stock
100g cheese (anything you want! I went for cheddar but parmesan is great)
250g cooked diced chicken
3 tsp pesto

Melt the butter in a large saucepan. When it is foaming add the garlic and mushrooms and cook for 3-5 minutes until the mushrooms are soft.

Add the risotto rice and wine, stirring to coat the rice, and cook for 2 minutes. Add a ladle of stock and cook gently, stirring constantly until the stock has been absorbed. Continue to add the stock, a ladleful at a time, and cook for 20-25 minutes or until the rice is just tender.

Add the cheese, chicken and pesto and stir until all are combined.

Serve with crusty bread.

Risotto al verde

Omit the mushrooms and chicken. Substitute the chicken stock for veg stock. Use blue cheese. Add 4 tbsp lightly toasted pine nuts and 4tbsp shredded fresh basil at the end to serve.

Asparagus risotto

Omit the mushrooms and chicken. Add a finely chopped onion to the pan with the garlic in step 1. Omit the pesto and add 375g trimmed and chopped asparagus in step two, about 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time.