I do a lot of risotto, it’s a very satisfying dish. A couple of weeks back I did a quick, baked recipe but this one here is more traditional and needs the effort of stirring and being watched. It’s worth it though. Even my 17 yr old son deigned to eat it and he’s always been a bit of a finicky eater. Apparently it “slapped”, whatever that means…I hope it’s a good thing.

I served it with asparagus, my favourite vegetable and in season too at the moment.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 500g skinless chicken breast
• 250g arborio rice (risotto rice)
• 600ml chicken stock
• 200ml white wine
• 75g onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp dairy free margarine
• 0.5 tsp dried thyme (or one fresh sprig)
• 75g ground almonds
• 25g nutritional yeast
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 0.5 tsp ground black pepper

Method

• Pour 400ml of the stock into a pan and bring to a simmer. Add the garlic and the chicken breasts. Cover with a lid and poach for 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked. Take off the heat.
• Drain the liquid from the chicken pan into the remaining stock. You should have about 600ml of liquid.
  • Try not to let the garlic into the stock but don’t fret if a little gets in.
• Add the margarine to another pan and melt, pop the onion in and cover. Cook on a low heat for about 10 minutes until the onions is translucent.
• Put the rice in with the onions and cook for 4 minutes stirring frequently.
• Add the thyme and wine to the rice. Increase the heat a little and stir frequently until all the liquid is almost gone.
• Add enough of the stock to cover the rice, season with the salt and pepper then stir.
• As the liquid is absorbed into the rice and the mixture gets thicker, keep adding the stock a little at a time. Stir often to avoid it sticking.
  • I’ve added a video at the end to show you the consistency you’re aiming for.
• When all the stock is in and absorbed the risotto is finished. Remove it from the heat.
• Now stir in the ground almonds and yeast.
• Take the chicken out of the pan and slice thickly into 1.5cm (3/4″) cuts.
• Put a serving of the risotto on a plate/dish and arrange a serving of the chicken on top.

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