Easy Risotto – Done To Yum In 7 Minutes!

28 Oct 2011 6 Comments

by Nikki in Fabulous Food Tags: , , , ,

I absolutely adore risotto, but standing at the stove, stirring away for over half an hour, really does not appeal to me, so it does not make it on to my dinner table very often.

So after a little trial and error, I found you can make a beautiful risotto in your pressure cooker!

This simple recipe gives you a lovely basic risotto of 4 generous serves. To add your own personal touch, simply add what ever your family likes. I have used chopped chicken with spinch, skinless sausages chopped into bite size pieces and garlic prawns. I prefer to cook my add in bits seperately as my family likes things that are crunch and crispy, but chicken breast can be added raw in with the rice as it cooks and will have a steamed consistancy when done.

SIMPLE PRESSURE COOKER RISOTTO

  • 1 tablespoon Butter
  • 1 Onion (finely diced)
  • 1 1/2 cups Arborio Rice
  • 3 cups Chicken Stock (heated) (see note)
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

– Place the pressure cooker on to gentle heat and melt the butter, add the onion and cook for approximately 2 minutes until softened.

– Add the rice and stir until it is all coated in the butter/onion mixture.

– Add 3 cups of hot chicken stock, stir well to combine and place the lid on your pressure cooker and secure.

– Increase the heat until the cooker reaches high (mine starts to ‘whistle’ when it is ready).

– Lower the heat to the lowest possible whilst still maintaining pressure.

– Cook for 7 minutes.

– Remove from heat, release pressure and remove lid. Stir well and then allow to stand for 2 to 5 minutes to absorb any excess moisture.

– Stir in parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper.

– Serve with your choice of meat, char-grilled vegetables or what ever takes your fancy.

This risotto also reheats beautifully in the microwave – IF there are any leftovers.

NOTE:- CHICKEN STOCK –

The better quality chicken stock that you use to make risotto, the better the final flavour will be. You can buy good stock in the supermarket in long life packs, I would avoid the dried powedery type as it does not give a really good flavour.

When I have time, I always make my own chicken stock, by simply adding 1 whole chicken to a large pot of water, season with salt, pepper, 2 choppped carrots, 1 chopped onion and a few celery sprigs. Gently boil for 1 1/2 hours and then allow to cool slightly.

Remove the chicken and sit in a strainer. Pour the remaining stock through a fine seive and capture in a bowl. Place in suitable containers and freeze.

Remove all the meat from the chicken and dice. This beautiful moist chicken is great for sandwich fillings, savoury pancakes, wraps or pies. Freeze any chicken you don’t want to use straight away.

A luxury style dinner for a busy week night, fantastic!