Thursday, September 23, 2010

Soul Satisfying Risotto


      I have some beautiful leftover roast chicken in the fridge as well as a few of those beautiful leeks I have been using all week. I was interested in finding a way to use them both in our dinner tonight. I also wanted to incorporate some of the tasty chicken stock I made the other day. Some of the stock has gone into a soup for tomorrow’s dinner and some had been put in the freezer. Tonight I will use part of it to create a soul satisfying risotto. This meal is simple but does require about a half hour of your time. It must be stirred regularly and eaten promptly but the creamy goodness is so worth it.
                           ~             
           1      Tbs. Olive oil
           1      Tbs butter
           2      Tbs. Tarragon
           a few threads of saffron 
           (optional ~ I’m using a bit)
           3      Cups chicken stock
           ¾     of a sautéed leek
          1/4    Slice bacon
           ¾     Cup Arborio rice
          1/4    Cup dry white wine
          1/2    Cup grated Parmesan cheese
          6oz    Cooked leftover roast chicken
            Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

This is the rice I used for tonight's risotto.
                            

I put 3 cups of chicken stock in a separate saucepan heat and to simmer

In the risotto pot:
  place butter & olive oil & 
the cleaned leek sliced thinly 
sauté till soft but not browned
                            ~
(When I added the leek I also added ¼ of a slice of bacon)
The bacon was diced incredibly small (like bits size) 
when done:

Add the rice to coat it with the oil & butter
Add the tarragon 
Add the wine & cook about a minute
Add a ladle full of the simmering stock
(If you are using a few saffron threads you can put them in now)
                         ~
Stir till its mostly absorbed 5 min or so,
(Till you can drag the wooden spoon across the pot bottom and not have it quickly run back)

Add salt & Pepper keep adding the stock till its absorbed in the same way as the first ladle full (add slowly will take about ½ hour)

When done I toss in the cooked chicken and the grated cheese & serve
Risotto can get gummy if it sits too long after cooking so serve it just as you are ready too eat it.
TIP OF THE DAY: Use bacon as a flavoring. I just love bacon and although I don’t have it very often I do enjoy the occasional BLT. Bacon can add deliciousness to a wide variety of recipes. Today I used a scant amount in my risotto. I didn’t use it as an ingredient but as a flavoring. I always keep a few slices of bacon in my freezer and that way I always have some on hand for a night like tonight when I didn’t want the bacon flavor to overtake the dish just to give it a tiny additional layer of flavor. Think about recipes that you love that could benefit from a sprinkling of bacon.

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