Chicken and mushroom risotto ... in the Thermomix

Tonight we are having a favorite in our home - chicken and mushroom risotto.

I've taken to cooking my risottos in the Thermomix because it's just so dang easy and also because I've been able to perfect it over the last many months and now it tastes just amazing. However, if you don't have a Thermomix, my regular risotto cooking recipe is here.

Chicken and mushroom risotto is a standard in our home whenever we feel like risotto, or rather, whenever I feel like risotto. The Boy never complains about risotto because he loves it.

This is actually a variation of the recipe for a Prawn and Gorgonzola risotto which I will post another time, when I make it again. It's really very delicious too.

Here's the standard RECIPE that I normally use, which is what I do 9 times out of 10. Just ignore the fact that tonight I decided to do it a little differently.

Ingredients:

• ½ onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 40g Olive oil
• 300g Arborio rice
• 80g white wine
• 4 tsp chicken stock
• 1 litre of hot water
• 3 pieces of chicken thigh - cut into very small pieces
• 6 to 8 button or brown mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup of Parmesan cheese - shredded

Instructions:

• Chop onion and garlic together Speed 6, 3 – 5 seconds, scrape sides
• Add olive oil and sauté at 100 degrees for 2 minutes, at Reverse speed 1
• Add Arborio rice and wine wine, sauté for 2 minutes at Reverse speed 1, 100 degrees
• Add chicken pieces, stock and hot water, set time to 12 minutes, Reverse speed 1, 100 degrees
• After 12 minutes, add mushrooms, cook at 100 degrees for 4 minutes, Reverse speed 1
• Once that is done, remove from Thermomix into a large serving dish - I use a Corning Ware container with lid
• Mix in 3/4 cup of Parmesan cheese and let it sit for 2 minutes
• Add salt and pepper to season to taste
  
• Serve into plates or bowls and sprinkle a bit more Parmesan cheese before eating
• Enjoy!

I decided to be a little adventurous tonight and instead of just regular olive oil, I went with truffle oil. I'm not sure how that will turn out because (1) I've never tried with truffle oil though I think it will be good and (2) my truffle oil is a trifle (ha ha) old and is not as flavorful as I would like it to be.

I also OD'd a bit on the onion because I forgot the recipe was only ½ an onion and I thought it was 1 onion, and I already had ½ an onion that was cut up in the fridge. So, yours truly ended up with 1 ½ onions in the risotto. Oh yeah, we also love garlic, so I used like 6 or 8 cloves of garlic, but that's normal. I always use a lot of garlic in my cooking. It keeps those winter colds away. :-)

I'd just like to point out that unlike most other cooking that I do, I actually follow the recipe for the risotto quite closely and seldom vary it.

Anyway, tonight's risotto was delicious. The Boy thinks it is probably the best risotto I've made. The truffle flavor was very subtle but according to The Boy is really added to the overall taste of the dish. I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. I even had seconds, which for those who know me, will know that's very unusual.

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