Mushrooms, Celery and Chicken Risotto

Since it was quite miserable outside I just felt for something comforting but light and some kind risotto filled the bill. I had one chicken breast, celery and Cremini mushrooms on hand so recipe was born. It is very similar to Chicken and Mushroom Risotto that I have posted earlier. It may seem like lot of mushrooms but the shrink to about 1/4 of its volume.

Risotto is very versatile meal. This time I cooked enough of it to have a lot for leftover. Next day I prepared Risotto Cakes and whit what was left I cooked risotto soup. I just used 1 part of risotto for 2 parts of chicken stock by volume. It tasted fantastic and the soup was done in 15 minutes! After all, everything was cooked already.

Ingredients
2 tsp. olive oil
2 Tbs. butter
2 1/2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 stalks of celery
2 skinless chicken breasts
3 shallots
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1-1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
Pinch of Saffron
4-1/2cups chicken stock (heated)
1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmigiano cheese
2 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley
Oil
Salt & pepper

 Directions

Slice the celery diagonally across into 1/8” slices. Chop the chicken breast into 3/8” pieces, sprinkle with sea salt and pepper and coat with 1 Tbs. of olive oil.

Heat up the chicken stock and keep hot.

Heat 1 tsp. of oil and 1 Tbs. of butter in skillet. Add mushrooms and toss to coat all slices. Cook till mushrooms show nice color (do not move them too much). Add celery and cook until it softens, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken pieces and cook for 5 – 7 minutes or until the chicken is almost cooked. Remove chicken, mushrooms and celery to a bowl and keep warm.

In the same skillet that you cooked mushrooms and chicken, sauté shallots and garlic in remaining butter and oil until shallots are translucent. Add the rice and stir until the rice turns opaque, about two minutes.

Add the wine to the rice and stir frequently until the wine has been absorbed into the rice.

Add 1/2 cup of the heated chicken stock and stir until absorbed. The rice and stock should bubble gently.

Continue to cook the rice, adding chicken stock 1/2 cup at a time, scraping the bottom of skillet continuously, and allowing the rice to absorb the stock before adding the next 1/2 cup. Taste for seasoning and adjust.

With the last addition of stock return chicken, mushrooms and celery to the skillet and sprinkle with half of Parmigiano cheese.

Cook rice, scraping the bottom of skillet continuously, until al dente, about 25-30 minutes. Remove from heat when the risotto is thick and creamy.

Serve on pre-heated plate or bowl and garnish with freshly grated Parmigiano and parsley. Serve immediately.