Chicken and Mushroom Risotto

The steam function is one of the most versatile cooking methods available on your CombiSteam oven. It covers so many bases including defrosting, proofing your dough, cooking custards like creme caramels without a water bath, steaming puddings and of course steaming veggies, seafoods, grains and meats. For more info on what Steam can do check out The Basics downloads which looks at this function is depth and will be applicable to most brands. Today we're going to use our fabulous Steam function to do risotto. Yes, you heard right. And the best bit is it's virtually stir free; it basically cooks itself while you get on with other midweek type things.

We're also going to use our Combination (Hot Air+Steaming) function to do the pre sauté which makes life super easy and creates a complete one pot wonder. (You could, of course, do that part on cooktop if you so desire.)

Now let me just say first and foremost that I have had a lot of bad risottos in my time and I am certainly not interested in re-creating any of them. When done well however, I think risotto can be a real winner. It's also gluten free which ticks boxes for many nowdays! In the past, "BCS" (before CombiSteam), it was a dish that I tended to put into the "too hard basket" when cooking at home. Often even ordering it in a restaurant can be quite hit and miss. The stodge factor often comes into play, and when making it yourself on the stovetop, it's quite time consuming and let's be honest.....a little bit like hard work. Well not anymore! Your CombiSteam makes creating a gorgeous, oozy, al dente risotto an absolute walk in the royal gardens.

So onto the recipe - using the classic combo of chicken and mushies. Add a little spinach for some green goodness if you like!

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1 medium brown onion (diced)

• 12 small swiss brown or button mushrooms (sliced)

• 2 cloves garlic (crushed)

• 3 sprigs thyme

• 1 bay leaf

• 2 tbs olive oil (+ a little extra for chicken)

• 1/2 cup dry white wine

• 500g arborio rice

• 1L chicken stock

• 2 chicken breasts (thinly sliced - around 1/2 cm thick)

• 1 cup baby spinach leaves (roughly chopped) - optional

• 1/2 cup grated parmesan

• 50g butter (chopped into small cubes)

Method:

1. Place the white wine, olive oil, onion, mushrooms, garlic, thyme leaves and bay leaf in a very large, shallow sided dish.* Season well with salt and pepper.

2. Place the dish into the CombiSteam on a rack/shelf. Select your Combination Steam function (Hot Air+Steaming) and set the temperature to 200°C. (For variable steam set 30% or medium). Set the timer for 10 minutes.

3. After 10 minutes remove the dish and leave the door of the CombiSteam open to cool down completely.* If you can see an internal temperature display you should wait for it to be less than 50°C.

4. Add the rice to the dish and stir to coat in the oniony mixture. Gently pour over the stock. Scrape any grains of rice, that are sitting above the liquid, down so they are covered in the stock. Return the dish to the cooled CombiSteam. Select Steam and set temperature to 100°C (or 100%). Cook for 25 minutes.

5. Toss the sliced chicken with a little extra olive oil and season salt and pepper.

6. After 25 minutes, remove the dish from the oven and close the door. Add the chicken on top of the rice, without stirring, separating the pieces if necessary. (Some overlap is ok) Place the spinach leaves on top if using. Return the dish to the CombiSteam and continue cooking for a further 10 minutes.

7. Finally, remove the dish and top with the butter and parmesan immediately. Allow it to melt for a minute or two. Gently fold through but don’t overmix it. Taste for seasoning and serve immediately.

(I like to squeeze over some fresh lemon juice to serve but that's just a Queen thing I think!)

Tips:
*large lasagna style Pyrex or Corningware dishes are ideal here - your dish must be big so the rice is not too deep and therefore cooks evenly- the rice shouldn't be higher than your knuckle if you put your index finger into the bottom.
*Some CombiSteam brands (like V-ZUG) will allow you to select the Hot Air/Fan Forced, set the temperature to it's lowest option and start with the door open to help blow out the heat and cool it down quickly which is perfect when you want to go from high temperatures back to using just Steam.

Feel free to experiment with other flavour combos. If it needs sautéing in the original recipe you are adapting then add it during step 1. It's basically the same process as on the stove top - first things first to create your flavour base - then rice and stock and finish with butter & cheese.

If you need to adapt the liquid quantities to suit your personal tastes then absolutely do so. Arborio rice can also differ so that can sometimes affect the amount of liquid you need.

I hope you all try this. It really is such a great dish and so simple - it's truly a CombiSteam joy.

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And don't forget to check out my downloadable Recipe Books here, for some exclusive content.

Over and out loyal ones.

Happy CombiSteaming!

Yours in the kitchen,
The CSQ. x