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Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Pumpkin, Chicken and Spinach Risotto Recipe

Risotto is one of those recipes that I don't make very often but whenever I do, I wonder why I don't make them more. If you don't eat meat then you could always leave the chicken out and add some pine nuts or cashews to give it a little extra taste.
This is very simple to make and only takes around 30 - 35 minutes to cook.

INGREDIENTS:

1 litre of good chicken stock (ideally, make your own)
500g chicken thigh fillets
1 brown onion - peeled and finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves fresh garlic - crushed
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1 kg butternut pumpkin (butternut squash) peeled and diced into bite size cubes
150g baby spinach
3 - 4 tablespoons fresh parmesan cheese - finely grated

METHOD:

Dice chicken into bite size cubes.
Heat oil in a large saucepan or frypan and add the chicken. Cook until the chicken is nice and golden brown then remove it from the pan.
Add onion to the pan and cook for approx 5 minutes or until softened.
Add garlic, pumpkin and rice and cook for about 1 minute.
Pour the chicken stock in, bring to boil, then stir through. Place lid on pan and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the rice is just cooked. Stir occasionally.
Remove from heat and stir in the spinach, parmesan cheese and chicken.
Cover again with lid and let stand for another 5 minutes to make sure the chicken is heated through.
Serve with a small side dish of extra shaved parmesan cheese and some fresh crusty bread and butter.