Chicken and Mushroom Risotto
Difficulty: Medium
Cooking time: 1 hour
Serves 4
In my opinion, nothing beats a good risotto for dinner. Creamy, rich, decadent, and delicious, the complexity of flavors and textures cannot be beaten. While this recipe can be a bit tricky when it comes to timing, the execution is incredibly simple, while producing something that looks like it belongs in a fine dining restaurant. I’ve been working on this recipe for the past 4 years and every time I make it I do something different. This is just the latest version of a dish that never stops evolving. This is definitely the anti-diet cheat meal that’s sure to satisfy any unhealthy cravings that you may be having while being easy and cheap to make!
Food Dictionary:
Risotto: An Italian rice dish cooked by constantly stirring the broth, until the rice reaches a creamy consistency.
Mushroom Medley: Any combination mushrooms sauteed in butter. For this recipe, it is a combination of baby portobello mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms, and white beech mushrooms
Mise En Place: French for “everything in its place”; a culinary term for preparing ingredients in advance
Al Dente: Literally meaning firm when bitten.
The Recipe:
Ingredients:
4 boneless, skin-on chicken, leg and thigh quarters, (alternatively you can use 6 boneless skin-on chicken thighs)
1 medium yellow onion
6 cloves of garlic
1 lb of baby portobello mushrooms
5.3 oz White Beech Mushrooms
1 lb King Oyster Mushrooms
3 Cups of Short Grain rice (arborio or Chinese short-grain rice)
½ cup of White wine
1.25 pints of unsalted or homemade Chicken stock
5oz grated parmesan cheese.
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp cream
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp Soy Sauce
Salt and Pepper
The Process:
Start by getting your mise en place ready, finely chop your onion, mince your garlic, prepare your herbs, wash and slice your mushrooms. Pat dry the chicken and season with salt and pepper.
Chef’s Tip: Always prepare your vegetables before preparing your meat to prevent cross-contamination. Alternatively, you can prepare your meat on a smaller cutting board placed on top of your regular cutting board.
Recipe Recommendation: Be conservative with how much salt you put on the skin side since you will be adding parmesan cheese to the skin later.
Heat a heavy high walled, heavy bottom stainless skillet on high heat with both the olive oil and vegetable oil until the oil starts smoking.
Place your chicken into the hot oil skin side down and cook for about 3 minutes or until the skin becomes light brown
Chefs Tip: When cooking anything in hot oil, make sure to lay the food away from yourself to prevent any oil from splashing onto your hands.
Remove the chicken to a parchment paper-lined, rimmed baking sheet and bake in a preheated, 350 Fahrenheit oven for 25 minutes.
In the same pan add 1 tbsp of butter and saute the mushrooms until they release all their water and become golden brown. Once a fond begins to form, deglaze the pan with the soy sauce and balsamic vinegar and cook until reduced and the mushrooms are coated in the sauce. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside for later use.
Add the remainder of your butter into the same pan and sweat the onions until they become translucent and lightly golden brown.
Add your garlic and rosemary and saute for 2 minutes.
Add your rice and toast for 2 minutes constantly stirring so you do not burn the garlic
Steps 9-12 are very time-sensitive, so move fast if you need to step away from the risotto turn the heat down to low and make sure there is enough liquid to cover the rice.
Deglaze the pan with white wine and continue stirring until most of the wine has been absorbed and evaporated.
Remove the chicken from the oven and pour any accumulated chicken juices into the pan. Constantly stir until all the liquid has evaporated or been absorbed.
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and coat the chicken skin in parmesan cheese (roughly 1-2 oz). Bake the chicken for another 10 minutes keeping an eye out to make sure the cheese does not burn.
Continue from step 10, continue adding chicken stock to the rice, and constantly stirring until all of the liquid is absorbed or evaporated.
Once the rice is al dente and no longer crunchy, stir the rest of your cheese and thyme and taste for seasoning.
Recipe Recommendation: Depending on how much cheese you use, you should not have to add any more salt.
Then add half of your mushroom melody (saving half for presentation) and remove your chicken from the oven.
Finishing this dish is time-sensitive, too. If you allow the risotto to sit, the starches will congeal and it will become gummy, you can fix this by adding a splash of stock and stirring till the texture becomes loose again.
The chicken skin should be extremely crispy and crunchy.
Add your cream at the last moment, stir and plate!
