Chicken, broccoli and rosemary risotto recipe

A delicious creamy risotto which you can have on the table in less than three quarters of an hour.

This chicken, broccoli and rosemary risotto was created by chef and cookery writer Jo Pratt. She says it's the perfect balance of healthy supper and comfort food in a bowl. Risotto is really easy to make, but you do need to stir it really regularly so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. This makes it a great dish for chilly evenings, when you can stand over the hob stirring and letting the delicious cooking aromas whet your appetite.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 large chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces
• 350g risotto rice
• A couple of stalks of rosemary
• 1 large glass of dry white wine
• 1–1.2 litres hot vegetable or chicken stock
• 200g broccoli, cut into 2-3cm pieces
• 50g finely grated parmesan cheese

Method

1. To make this chicken breast recipe, heat the olive oil in a deep, heavy-based frying pan or sauté pan. Gently cook the onion and garlic until they are soft but not colouring at all. This should take about 5 mins. Stir in the chicken, and fry for 3-4 mins.
2. Add the rice and rosemary and stir for about a minute until the rice looks slightly translucent. Pour in the wine and stir continuously until it has cooked into the rice. Add a good ladle of hot stock and season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat down so the risotto is simmering gently and then keep adding ladles of stock as it cooks into the rice, stirring and moving the rice around in the pan.
3. After about 12-15 mins, stir in the broccoli and continue stirring and adding the stock for 5-8 mins until the rice is soft but still with a bit of bite left in it. The texture of the risotto should be thick and creamy, but not too loose. Add extra stock or hot water if necessary.
4. Remove the cooked risotto from the heat, and stir in the parmesan cheese and add any extra stock if the risotto seems particularly thick.
5. Spoon the risotto into warmed bowls and serve.

Top Tip for making chicken, broccoli and rosemary risotto

This is a really easy recipe to double up and refrigerate the rest for lunch the next day. If you don't want to use white wine a good splash of apple cider vinegar, or even apple juice, is a good substitute.

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