CHICKEN AND LEEK RISOTTO
Creamy, dreamy chicken and leek risotto with roast pumpkin, courgette, parmesan and pinenuts. It’s such a good winter warmer!
This risotto is surprisingly easy to make. Unlike some risotto recipes, you don’t have to stir it constantly (just make sure you’re using a good non-stick pot), meaning it’s ready faster as you don’t have to prep all of the ingredients in advance.
You should end up with a nice creamy texture (if not, you might need to add a little more stock). The risotto reheats really well in the microwave too.
CHICKEN & LEEK RISOTTO
Creamy, dreamy risotto is such a good winter warmer. This version is pretty easy to make too. Unlike some risotto recipes, you don’t have to stir it constantly!
Ingredients
RISOTTO
- 500 g butternut pumpkin (1lb 2oz)
- 4 tsp olive oil, divided
- 2 Tbsp pinenuts
- 400 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs (14oz)
- 1 leek
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 cups arborio rice (400g)
- 6 cups chicken stock (1.5L)
- 2 courgettes
- 1/3 cup sour cream (80ml)
- 1 cup grated parmesan (80g)
TO SERVE
- 300 g green beans (fresh or frozen) (10.6oz)
Instructions
PREPARE PUMPKIN
Preheat oven to 200ºC fan bake and line an oven tray with baking paper.
Peel pumpkin and remove the seeds then dice into small 1cm cubes. Place on prepared oven tray and drizzle with one teaspoon olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Bake for 20 minutes then sprinkle with pinenuts and bake for a further 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
COOK RISOTTO
While pumpkin is cooking, dice chicken. Wash and thinly slice leek. Crush garlic. Heat remaining three teaspoons of olive oil over a medium heat in a large non-stick saucepan and cook chicken, stirring, for 5 minutes, until cooked through. Remove to a plate or bowl.
Add the leek and garlic to the saucepan. Cook for 3 minutes, or until leek is soft. Add rice and stir for a couple of minutes, until well coated and translucent. Pour in one cup of stock and bring to the boil. Add the stock one cup at a time, stirring occasionally. You may need to stir frequently or constantly if your cookware isn't completely non-stick - keep a careful eye on it. Wait until each cup is absorbed before adding the next cup.
While risotto is cooking, trim the ends off the courgettes and dice into small cubes. Trim the ends off the beans (if using fresh).
When you add the last cup of stock to the risotto, add the chicken and courgette. When all of the stock is absorbed (and the rice is cooked), gently stir in the roasted pumpkin, pinenuts, sour cream and grated parmesan. Season with black pepper (and salt, if needed).
SERVE
Microwave the beans for 2 minutes, until just tender. Serve risotto in your favourite bowls, with beans!
Recipe Notes
WINE MATCH: A Chardonnay or Pinot Gris.
GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: Make sure you use gluten-free chicken stock.
VEGETARIAN OPTION: Omit the chicken. Try stirring through some baby spinach.
INGREDIENT SWAP: This meal would also work well with prawns in place of the chicken.
STORING AND REHEATING: Store individual portions in microwave-safe containers and reheat as required.
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4 Comments
My daughter loves Risotto and this one went down a treat. I am loving having someone else suggest meals for the week & I only have to get ingredients and cook. Great to have recipes that will utilise left over ingredients from previous recipes to stop waste. Thank you.
Fantastic! Glad to hear that Y.U.M is working well for you and your family. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave your feedback.
I would suggest that you DO stir constantly as unfortunately I had a fairly relaxed attitude and let mine catch – it tarred the final taste. Otherwise ok, lots of different flavours!
Thanks for your feedback Josh. I’ve used a really good non-stick pot for this risotto each time I’ve made it, so maybe that’s given me a false sense of security! I’ll add in some comments on this 🙂