Craving something creamy, rich and yet super easy to whip up for dinner? Then my Chicken and Peas Risotto is just what you need. It is comfort food at its best. Risotto is typically made using arborio rice. The only types of rice I previously knew were the Basmati and Jasmine varieties. And the first time I tasted a risotto, I was like ‘Wow there is so much cheese in this rice’ because it was so creamy!
Thats the trick Arborio rice plays on you, you don’t need cheese to make this risotto creamy. The rice does it for you. Just add enough amounts of chicken or vegetable stock to the risotto and voila, you’ll have a super creamy rich risotto.
Creamy arborio rice is a short grained rice with high starch and protein contents. This makes the risotto sticky and super delicious.
You can use any veggies that you like but I typically tend to keep things very simple. Italian dishes don’t need heaps of ingredients, just a few high quality ingredients are enough. Use good quality chicken breast pieces, and some really good chicken or vegetable stock. There is of course no shame in using stock cubes, they work perfectly well in this recipe.
Instead of peas, you could use sweetcorn kernels too. Chicken and sweetcorn go well together and in a risotto setting everything tastes better.
I always serve my risotto with fairy dust of Parmesan cheese. If you don’t have any then, shavings of Grano Padano or Pecorino cheese would also work perfectly well.
Try this Chicken and Peas risotto recipe and let me know how you get on with it, it is really filling and is a definite belly (and soul) warmer
| Prep Time | 10 mins |
| Cook Time | 30 mins |
| Servings |
servings
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- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2-3 pods garlic chopped
- 1 medium onion julienned
- 250 gms risotto rice / Arborio rice
- 2 chicken breast pieces cut into small bite sized chunks
- 1 cup green peas frozen or fresh
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- Salt to season
- 4-5 tbsp Parmesan shavings and some more to serve
- 1 chicken or vegetable stock cube disolved in 1 litre boiling water
Ingredients
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- Heat vegetable oil in a deep bottomed large pan, when oil is hot add in the julienned onion and the garlic.
- Saute until onion is translucent, do not brown the onions.
- Now add in the chicken, season with salt and pepper.
- Wash the arborio rice in water a couple of times before adding it to the pan.
- Add peas and mix everything together.
- Add a ladle full of stock to the rice and stir, wait for the water to be absorbed before adding another ladle full of stock.
- You will notice the rice will start to get tender and will then turn creamy.
- Use up all of the stock, season with thyme and oregano and stir well.
- Lastly add the Parmesan shavings and stir until the cheese has melted into the risotto.
- Serve the risotto hot with extra Parmesan fairy dust.