Chicken and leek risotto is a light, healthy dish thats both comforting and delicious. Great for an easy weekday meal but also great to share. It’s gluten free and a one pot meal that takes only 40 minutes from start to finish!
A Few Tips For Easy, Delicious Risotto
- Leeks: leeks are similar in taste to onions but milder and go really well with chicken. We use only the white part of the leek for this recipe. Be sure to wash the leek carefully as there is often dirt and silt trapped between the layers. The easiest way to do this is to slice the white part of the leek into rounds before rinsing and soaking the pieces in a large bowl of water. The leek pieces will float, while the dirt will sink, and all you need to do is simply remove the leek from the water.
- Wine: white wine is an optional but highly recommended addition as it adds a complexity and depth to the flavour. Simply omit if you’re not using.
- Stock: a lot of the flavour of this risotto will be based on the stock so use the best quality one you can. Warm your stock in an extra pot on the stove next to where you’re cooking the risotto and add a ladleful of warm stock to your risotto and stir until just absorbed before adding in another ladleful and repeating. With your heat at the right level (the risotto should be at a medium simmer) it shouldn’t take more than 15-20 minutes to stir all the stock in.
- Stirring: stir regularly, but don’t stress about walking away for a minute or two here and there while it’s cooking. There’s also no need to stir frantically around and around constantly until it’s done- over stirring will actually have a negative effect on the texture of the final dish. Gentle swirls with the ladle is all that’s needed.
How to Store
This risotto is best eaten fresh as the texture changes when reheated, but if required you can store it for up to 3 days in a sealed container in the fridge. A great way to use up extra risotto is to make arancini balls.
More Risotto Recipes
If you love risotto, be sure to check out this amazing mushroom risotto recipe too!
If you try this recipe, please let us know how you went in the comments below!
Chicken and Leek Risotto
A delicious one-pot recipe for healthy chicken and leek risotto which is both easy and quick to make.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp oil (neutral flavoured)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 chicken breasts, sliced
- 1 leek, white part only, trimmed and finely sliced
- 1 tbsp dried parsley or thyme
- 1 1/2 cups arborio rice
- 4 cups chicken stock, warmed
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/4 cup (30g) grated parmesan cheese (+ more to serving)
- 1 cup baby spinach leaves
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Heat 1 tbsp of cooking oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the sliced chicken breast and cook for 2-3 minutes or until browned and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and cover.
- In the same pan, heat 1 tbsp butter and once melted, add the leeks to the pan and cook for a few minutes until slightly softened. Add the dried parsley/thyme and cook, stirring for a minute or two.
- Stir in the rice until combined with the leeks and herbs and cook for a few minutes before pouring in the wine. Stir and allow to cook for a few minutes to allow the alcohol to cook off.
- Start to add the stock to the pot in small batches, stirring in between each addition until the liquid has been absorbed, before pouring another batch in and repeating.
- Once all the stock has been absorbed, stir the chicken breast back into the risotto, along with the baby spinach leaves and parmesan cheese. Serve topped with more parmesan cheese if desired.
Notes
1. Oil: Use a neutral flavoured cooking oil for best results. Extra virgin olive oil has too strong a flavour for this light and mild dish. Use a refined olive oil if you wish to use olive oil in this recipe, otherwise canola, rice bran etc will work well.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4Amount Per Serving: Calories: 469Total Fat: 9.8gSaturated Fat: 3.8gCholesterol: 50mgSodium: 938mgCarbohydrates: 62.4gFiber: 2.6gSugar: 2.1gProtein: 25.5g
Nutritional information provided is an estimation only and may differ depending on your own individual ingredients
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