Chicken and Mushroom Risotto

This one is a great recipe if, like me, you have a vegetarian and a meat-eater in the house and don't want to be arsing about making two seperate meals. You can just make this (using vegetarian stock) up to stage 3, then add the peas in and set aside a portion to keep meat-free before adding the chicken to the rest.

Ingredients:

• Knob of butter
• 1/2 onion , finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove , finely chopped
• 150g risotto rice
• 1 glass white wine
• 500ml chicken or vegetable stock, heated to simmering
• Handful peas, cooked
• Cooked or leftover roast chicken, torn into strips, no skin
• 25g Parmesan, grated
• 100g fresh mushrooms cleaned and sliced
• A little salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper
• Flat leaved parsley, chopped
• Lemon juice

Methodology:

1. Melt a knob of butter in a large pan, add the mushrooms, onion and garlic and cook until onions are soft and translucent. Stir in the rice until coated with butter.
2. Add half the wine and stir until evaporated. Add the stock a ladle at a time until the rice is cooked but still with a little bite, adding in the rest of the wine with the last of the stock. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add the peas and chicken in the last 5 minutes of cooking to heat through.
4. When the rice is tender and the risotto is thick and creamy remove from the heat, stir in the Parmesan and a squirt of lemon juice and leave to rest for about 30 seconds, before garnishing with the parsley and some shavings of Parmesan cheese.

Serves two people