It's working a treat!! I must say I'm quite surprised! It's almost done so I'll be back later to update with the final ingredients, timing and the all important taste test. I've already had to add more stock though as I thought I'd use less as the slow cooker normally requires a bit less liquid but I didn't really consider that the rice would, of course, absorb it all I caught it in time though, we could have actually probably ate it then - it was lovely! That was an hour in
Total success!! I will be making risotto a lot more these days!
I needed to make some alterations along the way (like adding more stock) so it's still a work in progress but here's a rough recipe:
Ingredients:
- olive oil
- chicken breast. (I used 2 decent sized, free range breasts - for tenderness - but you could use less chicken if you like and thighs would also work well)
- 1 litre of good quality chicken stock heated so warm. (I used 500ml initially and had to top up with water after an hour. I tried 250ml but had to add another 250ml later. I then needed to add stock powder for seasoning.)
- 1 brown onion diced
- 1 teaspoon of crushed garlic
- 1 teaspoon of crushed chilli. (I used Masterfoods and it added just a teeny, tiny bit of zing. Totally optional though)
- 1/2 cup of white wine (I used Sav Blanc)
- 1.5 cups of aborio rice
- 4-5 good sized button mushrooms sliced
- 30g butter
- 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan (although yummy, I don't think it needed it and won't use it next time)
- salt and pepper to taste
Method:
- turn on the slow cooker and set to HIGH
- heat a tbs or two of olive oil in a fry pan and saute the onion and garlic until soft. Add the chicken and cook gently until half cooked (so it doesn't go tough in the slow cooker). Remove from heat
- in the same pan, heat another tbs or so of olive oil then add aborio. Ensure all aborio is covered with oil then add the wine. Once the wine is completely absorbed, remove from heat and add to the slow cooker.
- immediately add to the slow cooker the onion and chicken, stock and chilli and stir well.
- put the lid on and cook on HIGH for an hour. Stir a couple of times if possible but it's not essential (I didn't at all in the first hour and it was fine but a stir may be necessary)
- after an hour, check the consistency and stir. NOTE: At this point, I had to add more stock (twice) as I'd only started with 500ml and drop the temp to LOW. I would *think* with a litre of stock initially, 2 hours on high would be perfect but keep a close eye on it and stir randomly
- add the sliced mushrooms at the one hour mark, check seasoning and cook for another hour (remember to check every so often and stir)
- once cooked, remove from heat and stir in butter and parmesan. NOTE: This makes it rich and a quite cheesy. I'll be skipping the parmesan next time, it was superb without it I also added frozen peas and corn which I'd heated prior in the microwave.
Enjoy!
So next time I'll start with more stock and try 2 hours on high. If that cooks too quickly, I'll try 2-3 hours on low. I think one of those should work perfectly though!
PS: Starangelk - it wasn't salty at all, I actually had to add some salt! But I did use an extra 500ml of water THEN I added stock powder to adjust the seasoning as it was a bit bland then. I didn't have any good liquid stock left or I would have used that instead.
GL!
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I caught it in time though, we could have actually probably ate it then - it was lovely! That was an hour in
I'm interested in hearing about the saltiness etc considering you had to add extra stock?
I will be making risotto a lot more these days!
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