Recipe: Wild Mushroom Risotto with Chicken, Crispy Pancetta and Spinach

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Published on Wednesday, 05 December 2012 09:00

Last Updated on 04 December 2012

Monica Costa

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Some of my friends call me the Queen of Risottos… Well, I love risotto and my favourite risotto recipes are the Milanese (yellow) risotto with saffron and the wild mushroom risotto (Risotto coi funghi). Here is an unusual risotto recipe that is mouth watering.

Serves 2 lucky people

Ingredients:

2 x 175g chicken breasts

1 tblsp olive oil

100g pancetta cubes

1 x 190g jar Sacla’ Wild Mushroom Sauce for Risotto – just so we are clear: using the Sacla’ sauce is only a shortcut to make the mushroom sauce. If you have time you should actually buy dried porcini mushrooms, get them into water to soften them slightly and then cook them in a pan with olive oil, parsley and garlic until they are cooked, adding some water to avoid them drying up. This is called FUNGHI TRIFOLATI but it can be time consuming. Busy mums should stick to the ready made mushroom pesto.

200g risotto rice

1 chicken stock cube

large knob butter

50g baby spinach leaves

few Parmesan shavings

salt & freshly ground black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 190C, Gas Mark 5.

Rub the chicken breasts with olive oil, season and roast in a hot oven for 15-20 minutes until golden and cooked through. Add the pancetta for the last 6-8 minutes so that it crisps up nicely.

Meanwhile, tip the Wild Mushroom risotto sauce into a large saucepan and add the rice, stock cube and 3 empty jars worth (600ml) of boiling water. Bring to the boil, then reduce down to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently until creamy but the rice still has some ‘bite’. If the risotto looks too dry before it has finished cooking just add a splash of extra boiling water.

When the chicken and pancetta are done, let the chicken rest for a few minutes before slicing it, and drain the pancetta on some kitchen paper.

Stir a knob of butter into the risotto, season well, and add the chicken and spinach leaves. Divide between 2 warm bowls, scatter over the Parmesan and pancetta and serve.

Buonissimo!