Chicken & Asparagus Risotto

Risotto is one of my favourite dishes and has been since I was a child. Plain tomato risotto was a regular weekday dinner for the family and was made so often that I became a bit of a pro from an early age. The thing about Risotto is once you can make a good basic risotto its easily adaptable to all sorts of flavours and ingredients. 

I've posted a few different risotto's on here over the years; Lemon Chicken, Butternut Squash and my favourite, Prawn & Pea . This is a new one I haven't made before and it is delicious. Really creamy but not heavy and so easy.

The key to a good risotto is lots of patience and strong arms for constant stirring. Cooking it slowly while stirring constantly releases the starches in a way that gives it the really creamy but not stodgy texture. You want your rice to retain a little bit of bite, and your vegetables just cooked without being mushy. 

Serves 2

Smartpoints per Serving:10 sp

Smartpoints on No Count: 7sp

Propoints Per Serving: 11pp (8pp on F&H)

Ingredients:

125g risotto rice

250g skinless chicken breast cubed

1 onion finely chopped

3 garlic cloves crushed

1 pint chicken stock

15g parmesan cheese

1tsp butter/olive oil

1 bunch asparagus

salt & black pepper

Heat the oil or butter in a pan over a medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Put the lid on a sweat until soft before adding the chicken. Brown the chicken and add the rice, cooking for 3-4 minutes stirring constantly.

Add the stock a ladle at a time, stirring constantly and waiting until all the liquid is absorbed before adding the next ladle. If you run out of stock, use a little extra hot water. It should take about 25 minutes to cook through.

Slice your asparagus into 1-2 inch pieces, and add to the risotto about 7 minutes before cooking time is complete. Like the rice, you want the asparagus to be cooked but retain some bite. If the rice cooks before the asparagus is done, don't add any more liquid but place the lid on and leave to sit for 2-3 minutes until the desired texture is achieved.

Stir through the parmesan, lots of black pepper and salt to taste and serve immediately. This goes really well with a mixed salad with honey mustard dressing and, if you have the extra propoints, some crusty bread.