Serving size: Serves 4
Cuisine type: Italian
Cooking time: Less than 60 minutes
Course: Main
Favourite flavours: Chicken, Easy recipes
Convenience recipes: four or less

Real Living recipe for chicken, fennel and tarragon risotto.

INGREDIENTS

1L chicken stock
2 cups water
2½ tbsp olive oil
600g chicken thighs, diced
Sea salt & cracked black pepper
1 large fennel bulb, chopped
1 brown onion, chopped
2 cups Arborio rice
2/3 cups dry white wine
1½ tbsp finely chopped tarragon
50g butter
¾ cup finely grated parmesan

Equipment
Sharp knife
Chopping board
Medium saucepan
Large saucepan
Bowl
Spoon
Ladle

METHOD

Pour stock and water into medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.

Heat half the olive oil in large saucepan over high heat. Add chicken and cook for 4 to 5 mins until lightly golden and cooked through. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add remaining oil to large saucepan and reduce heat to medium. Cook fennel and onion for 5 mins until softened. Add rice and stir for 1 min to coat each grain in oil.

Add wine to rice and cook until completely absorbed. Add 1 or 2 ladles of stock at a time, stirring regularly. When all of liquid has absorbed add next ladle of stock. Repeat for about 17 mins until all stock is gone and rice is al dente (see "Tip"). Return chicken pieces to pan and add final ladle of stock.

Stir finely chopped tarragon, butter and most of parmesan through rice.

Serve Season with salt and pepper to taste, ladle into serving bowls and top with remaining parmesan. Yum!

Tip Different brands of rice have different absorbency levels; if you run out of stock, simply add ladles of boiling water until the rice is cooked.