Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 large brown onion
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 3 shallots – white part very finely sliced and green part roughly chopped
• 500g arborio rice
• 500g chicken (I used thighs but you can use breast if you would like)
• 300g mushrooms sliced
• 1/2 cup of baby green peas (they are sweeter than regular peas)
• 1L chicken stock
• 500ml water
• a dash of milk (I used skim, probably 1/4 to 1/2 a cup)
• fresh rocket/roquette/green space ships
• fresh parmesan cheese
• oil olive
• raw sugar
• freshly ground black pepper and sea salt
• dried rosemary, garlic, onion, basil, oregano, chilli, marjoram, sage, thyme

Method

1. Finely chop onions and add with crushed garlic and finely sliced white part of the shallots to a hot pan with a dash of oil. Cook until translucent.
2. Add the mushrooms, diced chicken, a sprinkle of raw sugar and spices. Stir and cook until all chicken sealed.
3. Add rice and fry until rice appears slightly translucent. This helps the rice to absorb the liquids slowly with becoming soggy and is called “Toasting the Rice”. The color should remain pearly white, not turn brown.
4. Once this happens turn the pan to a medium heat and begin adding ladles of the hot stock to the rice, stirring until all is absorbed. Repeat until you run out of stock. It is important to add hot stock, not cold, to the rice during the cooking process. Adding cold broth to hot rice results in a hard, uncooked kernel in the center of the grain.
5. Add peas and repeat the absorption process with the water. It is important to note that the quantity of liquid suggested in the risotto recipes is always approximate. In actual cooking, you should be prepared to use more, or sometimes less, as each risotto is different.
6. Once the rice is cooked to your liking, traditionally risotto is served al dente, meaning the rice is firm but not hard, add the green parts of the shallots and a dash of milk, stir; this will help make your risotto creamy without the addition of cream, season to taste with salt and pepper.
7. Serve on a bed of rocket/roquette/green space ships and top with fresh parmesan cheese.

Note: NEVER wash the rice before you make risotto. Every bit of the rice starch helps make risotto creamy.

Enjoy!

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