chicken and chorizo risotto recipe

This here's one of our favourite family recipes. It's simple {well, for a risotto} and super-tasty. I've also used some flash-fried prawns instead of the chicken.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

2 chorizo sausages {or try pancetta or bacon}

2 freerange skinless chicken breasts

1 litre of chicken stock

A few sprigs of thyme

Arborio rice, around a cup and a half

1 cup dry white wine

2 big cloves of garlic

finely diced onion or french shallot

Parmesan and butter to taste

Method:

Slice chorizo and brown in a frypan. Remove and set aside.

Place your stock and thyme sprigs in the frypan, using your wooden spoon to get all the yummy chorizo brownings from the base, then place chicken breast inside. Bring to a slow boil then turn it down to simmer. Depending on the size of the chicken breasts it can help to have a lid to pop over the pan to help the chicken poach evenly.

Melt a little butter and some olive oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan and then add the garlic and shallots. Add a little salt - this'll stop them from burning. Cook over a very low heat till soft. Next, add your rice, stirring for 2 minutes till it's coated with butter and starts to change colour. Ideally it should be letting off a teeny bit of milky liquid.

Pour in your cup of white wine and stir. Now, pour yourself a glass of white wine and get comfy - here's where the arm workout comes in. Good risotto takes constant stirring in my opinion - that's why a glass of wine {oh, and the odd wedge of parmesan} makes it all go much more smoothly.

When the wine is almost absorbed add a soup-ladle full of the simmering stock. Keep checking your chicken breast - they can take up to 15 minutes to poach depending on their thickness. When they're done, remove and set aside.

Keep stirring, and adding stock one ladleful at a time. After about 20 minutes test your rice. It should be nearly opaque with just a wee spot of white in the middle. Your risotto still needs to have a soupy consistency, so keep your stock up.

Cut the chicken into bite-sized chunks and stir it through the risotto. Turn off the heat and add a nob of butter, some freshly ground pepper and parmesan. Add the chorizo at the last minute and serve with wedges of lemon on the side {alternatively make a lemon, parsley and garlic gremolata to serve over top - mmmmmm}.

And enjoy!