Chicken and Chorizo Risotto is an easy meal and ready in just 30 minutes. Alot like a Paella, but without the seafood, it's a colourful tasty dish. It also works well with leftover chicken.
Typically, a risotto is stirred constantly to get that rich creamy texture. However, it is possible to still get a really great tasting risotto without all that stirring. I like to add the stock all at once and let it simmer, stirring just occasionally so it doesn't stick to the pan. Risottos are a great meal for mid-week as everything is cooked in the one pan. As always, I've added in some extra vegetables to make it go further.
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More Tasty Risotto Recipes
Recipe Tips and Variations
- Chorizo is a spicy spanish sausage and adds real flavour to the risotto. If you don't have chorizo you could also use bacon or pancetta. Adding a teaspoon of sweet smoked paprika will help add back that spicy flavour you are missing from the chorizo. Try to choose a good quality chorizo to get the best flavour and buy it as a sausage to cut up yourself. Pre-sliced chorizo tends to not have such a strong flavour.
- You can used fresh chicken or this is also an excellent recipe for using up leftover chicken. For leftover chicken, just stir it into the risotto at stage 5 as it doesn't need to cook, but does need to be piping hot.
- I've added a teaspoon of tumeric to this chicken risotto to give it that nice yellow colour. Sometimes you get this from the chorizo, but it doesn't hurt to add some. If you don't have any, the taste will be the same, but I just find the dish can look a little pale without it.
- You do need to use a special rice to make risotto.The best rice to use is called Arborio rice. Arborio Rice has shorter grains and a slightly nutty flavour. It also has a high starch content and it's this that gives a risotto the creamy texture. For this reason, don't rinse the rice before using it as you don't want to wash away the startch. Occasional stirring helps to release this startch which gives the risotto that special creaminess. You can use other short grain varieties of rice although you won't get quite the same results. Arborio rice is grown in Italy and also in the USA in California and Missouri.
- I always use a little white wine or vermouth in a risotto as I think it adds flavour. However, you could skip out this step if you prefer.
How to make it
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- Heat the butter in a large saucepan and when it is bubbling, add the onion and red pepper and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes until soft
- Add the diced chicken and chorizo and fry for 3 minutes, stirring regularly.
- Add the rice and stir it around so it is well coated in the butter. Fry for 2 minutes. Pour in the wine or vermouth and stir until it has all evaporated. The alcohol will evaporate off but you can skip the wine if you prefer.
- Add the tumeric and stir into the rice
- Add a the stock stir it all together. Bring the pan to simmer then cover with a tight fitting lid and turn the heat down low. Cook for 15 - 20 minutes until the rice is softened, stirring occasionally so it doesn't stick. If you're using leftover chicken, you should add it here.
- When the rice is cooked, stir in the peas and parmesan and season with salt and black pepper. Let it rest for 2 - 5 minutes to allow it to go creamy.
- Serve with the parsley sprinkled over the top.
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What to Serve with Chicken and Chorizo Risotto
This is a great one pot dish so there is no need to serve up anything else. You could if you like serve a green salad or even some crusty bread if you want to make the meal go further.
Sustainability
Chicken is the most popular meat sold and the quality, sustainability and even flavour, varies alot. The best sustainable chicken you can buy is a locally sourced organic bird. If you can't manage this, try to buy locally produced free range chicken. Buying meat from local sources reduces the carbon footprint and also helps support your local economy. Some people prefer to reduce the amount of meat they eat in eat meal rather than having meat free days. This is a great recipe for doing that. Just increase the quantity of vegetables.
Storage
A risotto is best eaten as soon as it is cooked. You can store this Chicken and Chorizo risotto in the fridge for just 1 -2 days. Make sure when you reheat it that it is piping hot. You may also need to add a little extra stock to loosen it. A risotto doesn't freeze well as the texture of the rice goes hard and grainy.
More leftover Chicken Recipes
"Recipe"
Chicken and Chorizo Risotto
Ingredients
- 20 g butter organic
- 1 onions organic, peeled and diced
- 1 g red pepper de seeded and diced
- 400 g arborio rice organic
- 150 ml vermouth or white wine organic, fairtrade
- 1 tsp tumeric organic, fairtrade
- 400 g diced chicken
- 100 g chorizo diced into cubes
- 1 litre chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 200 g frozen peas organic
- 1 dash salt
- 1 dash black pepper organic, fairtrade, freshly ground
- 40 g Parmesan cheese organic, grated
- 20 g fresh parsley organic, chopped
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a large saucepan and when it is bubbling, add the onion and red pepper and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Add the diced chicken and chorizo and fry for 3 minutes, stirring regularly
- Add the rice and stir it around so it is well coated in the butter. Fry for 2 minutes. Pour in the wine or vermouth and stir until it has all evaporated. The alcohol will evaporate off but you can skip the wine if you prefer.
- Add the tumeric and stir into the rice
- Add a the stock and stir it all together. Bring the pan to simmer then cover with a tight fitting lid and turn the heat down low. Cook for 15 - 20 minutes until the rice is softened, stirring occasionally.
- When the rice is cooked, stir in the peas and parmesan. Let it rest for 2 - 5 minutes to allow it to go creamy.
- Serve with the parsley sprinkled over the top.
Notes
Tips
- Arborio rice is the best rice for making a risotto. Don't rinse the arborio rice before cooking as the startch gives it the creamy texture.
- If you don't have chorizo you could use bacon or pancetta. Adding a teaspoon of sweet smoked paprika will help add back that spicy flavour you are missing from the chorizo. Try to choose a good quality chorizo and buy it as a sausage to cut up yourself. Pre-sliced chorizo tends to not have such a strong flavour.
- You can use fresh chicken or this is also an excellent recipe for using up leftover chicken. For leftover chicken, just stir it into the risotto at stage 5.
- I've added a teaspoon of tumeric to this chicken risotto to give it that nice yellow colour. Sometimes you get this from the chorizo, but it doesn't hurt to add some. If you don't have any, the taste will be the same, but I just find the dish can look a little pale without it.
- I always use a little white wine or vermouth in a risotto as I think it adds flavour. However, you could skip out this step if you prefer.
Storage
A risotto is best eaten as soon as it is cooked. You can store this Chicken and Chorizo risotto in the fridge for just 1 -2 days. Make sure when you reheat it that it is piping hot. You may also need to add a little extra stock to loosen it. A risotto doesn't freeze well as the texture of the rice goes hard and grainy.Nutrition per serving
The Nutritional Values are computer generated estimates based on industry standards and are provided as a helpful guide only.
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