Lemon Chicken Risotto

I will admit that I am a risotto novice. There are some people in this world that make risotto with beautiful technique. I am still learning and will continue to learn probably for the rest of my life. However, I love making risotto. It’s a labor of love. It requires you to stand over the stove for a long time patiently stirring in ladle fulls of stock over and over again. Once it all comes together it feels so wonderful to present your guests (or just yourself) with a warm bowl of comfort. It’s magical how lemon juice also transforms this dish. The blast of brightness brings so much life to this amazingly beige dish. I used homemade chicken stock for my recipe. In an upcoming newsletter (sign up here if you haven’t already) I will be discussing how much I love to make homemade chicken stock from scraps and leftover chicken bones, so stay tuned.

Arborio rice 

Chicken Stock

Butter 

Cooked Chicken 

Shallot

Garlic

Lemon zest

Lemon juice

Parmesan Cheese

Panko

The key to risotto being an easy experience is having everything prepped and ready to go before starting. I set up everything in small dishes so I can easily add them to the pot when it is time.

In a small frying pan over medium melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add 1/2 cup of panko bread crumbs and stir to combine. Cook bread crumbs until golden brown and set aside.

Here is what you should prep ahead of time: Finely chop a shallot and four cloves of garlic. Grate 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese. Chop 1 cup of cooked chicken into small bite sized pieces. Zest one large lemon. Juice the same lemon.

Add 4 cups of chicken stock to a small saucepan and heat until warm. No need to boil, just keep it warm. 

In a heat bottom pot over medium heat add 4 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add chopped shallot and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add 1 ½ cup of unrinsed rice and cook for 2 minutes stirring constantly. You want to toast the rice slightly, but not give it any color.

Add one ladle or ½ cup of stock. Stir constantly until liquid is absorbed. Continue adding more liquid, a ladle full at a time, waiting til the liquid is absorbed before adding another. Stir constantly so the rice never sticks. Keep going until rice is slightly al dente and creamy.

Add lemon juice and lemon zest and cook until liquid is absorbed. Add 2 tablespoon of butter and stir until melted. Stir in parmesan cheese, a little at a time. Stir to combine. Fold in chicken and taste for seasoning.

Plate risotto while still very hot with a generous pinch of bread crumbs on top.