What’s not to like about chicken and leek risotto? Garlic, leeks, white wine, chicken stock, arborio rice, chicken, parmesan … Mmmmmm. I’ve been making risotto for 20 years – aside from a recent five-year gap during my well-publicised carb intolerance – because I love how it makes a little meat go a long way, most of the ingredients can be pantry and fridge staples, yet the flavours are so fresh and luscious.
My confidence in my risotto-making abilities was rattled in my late 20s when I invited a good friend and his new bride to dinner. Chicken and leek risotto was on the menu because I figured it was an inoffensively tasty dish. The bride was a young lass from the American south. I don’t think she’d eaten risotto before. She stared like it was from Mars. She asked if we had any ketcup and proceeded to eat her meal agonisingly slowly, grain by grain.
They got divorced. Not because of my cooking, but it did take the pressure off future dinner parties.
Here’s my tried-and-true Chicken and Leek Risotto recipe. Unless you’re a young lass from the American south who puts ketcup on everything, I reckon you’ll love it.
RECIPE: CHICKEN AND LEEK RISOTTO
1 litre chicken stock
1 cup white wine
2 leeks, white parts only, quartered and finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
olive oil
2 cups arborio rice
4 chicken thigh fillets, cut into bite-sized chunks
large handful grated parmesan
METHOD: Gently heat wine and stock in a saucepan. Heat olive oil in a heavy pan and sweat leeks and garlic until soft. Increase heat in pan to medium. Stir-fry chicken until no longer visibly pink. Add arborio rice and stir for 1-2 minutes. Add stock, a ladleful at a time, stirring until it is almost absorbed by the rice. Continue until rice is al-dente. Stir through parmesan. Serve.
NOTE: If I wasn’t serving the dish to the Sprogs, I’d add some chilli with the leeks and garlic to give it a bit of kick. A handful of shredded basil leaves tossed through at the end would be yum too.
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