Not so long ago I really overdid the whole risotto thing and got a bit sick of them. However lately I have rediscovered the joy of risotto not only because of how easy they are to make, but because there is just so much you can do with it. My favourite at the moment is a simple lemon and thyme risotto with either seared chicken or fish on top. When I'm on night shift I really need to make something that is easy and requires little preparation yet is filling and feels like I have actually eaten a dinner that can sustain me for the night. I can have this on the table in about 30-40 mins so it fits the bill perfectly.
For this risotto I just saute a finely diced onion and a couple of cloves of finely chopped garlic until they are nice and soft. I then add the arborio rice (about a cup for the 2 of us for dinner and some leftover), toast that off for a bit then add in some white wine. Once that has absorbed I add stock (in this case chicken), ladleful by ladleful until each has also been absorbed. I find this can use about 1 litre of stock. Towards the end I add fresh thyme, finely grated zest of a couple of lemons and a bit of lemon juice. When the rice is cooked al dente I add in some Parmesan cheese and a bit more EVOO and check the seasoning.
For the chicken I pounded out a skinless, boneless chicken breast, rubbed it with olive oil and seasoned it with salt and pepper. I then grill or fry it until it's just cooked making sure it isn't overdone and has time to rest afterwards before I slice it thinly.
This is a fantastic dinner and the options are endless. My boys really like a risotto where you roast off some chicken pieces with some whole garlic cloves and some bacon. Chop it all up finely and mix it into the risotto towards the end of the cooking time. Very family friendly but tasty too.
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