Mushroom Risotto with Garlic, Thyme & Parsley

As mentioned in my olive bread post last night I cooked dinner for Michaels mum & sister Julie before we headed out to see The Lion King. Needed to do something quick, no elaborate dinner for tonight so I cooked up one of my favourite Jamie Oliver Risottos from The Naked Chef. I also added some chicken which is not called for in this recipe. It’s really tasty & filling & quite easy, just a bit tedious when you have to keep stirring while it’s cooking so keep that in mind.

Mushroom Risotto with Garlic, Thyme & Parsley

2 chicken breast fillets (if desired), chopped into bite size pieces
255g Mixed mushrooms (the choice is yours)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small handful of thyme, picked & chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
salt & freshly ground pepper
1 handful of parsley, roughly chopped
1 pinch of chilli powder
a squeeze of lemon juice
Risotto
1 litre chicken, fish or vegetable stock
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 finely chopped shallots or 2 medium onions
½ a head of celery, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
400g risotto rice
100ml dry vermouth or dry white wine
70g butter
100g freshly grated parmesan cheese

Brown your chicken pieces in olive oil over high heat then remove from pan.

Slice or tear the mushrooms. In a very hot pan heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and add the mushrooms and thyme. Cook for about 1 minute, toss, then add the garlic & a pinch of salt. Cook for another couple of minutes then add parsley, chilli powder & lemon juice, toss again & taste, adjust seasoning if desired.

Heat the stock. Then in a separate pan, heat the olive oil, add the onions, celery & a pinch of salt, sweat the vegetables for about 3 minutes. Add the garlic & after another 2 minutes after the vegetables have softened, add the rice. Turn up the heat & don’t leave the pan! While slowly stirring continuously you are beginning to fry the rice. You don’t ant any colour s if the temperature seems a bit high, turn down a bit, you must keep the rice moving. After 2-3 minutes it will start to look translucent as it absorbs the flavours. Add the vermouth or wine, keep stirring & once absorbed, add your first ladle of stock & a pinch of salt (keep seasoning to taste as you go). Once absorbed add the chicken & mushrooms. Turn down the heat to a highish simmer – it is very important not to cook to fast or the liquid will evaporate before the rice is cooked. Keep adding stock, ladleful at a time, after each is absorbed. This will take about 15 minutes. Taste the rice & keep stirring until soft but with a slight bite, if extra stock required keep adding.

Remove from heat & add the butter & ¾ of cheese, stir gently until melted through. Serve immediately with extra parmesan on top.