Chicken and leek risotto

Once you have mastered a basic risotto recipe you can chop and change key ingredients depending on the season and what you fancy! Seafood, spring greens, sausage and red wine, butternut squash etc the world is your oyster. Risotto takes time, it cannot be rushed, with a glass of wine and some music on while you stir it is a great way to destress and unwind. Remember to allow it to sit for 2 minutes at the end. This is the most important part of making the perfect risotto, as this is when it becomes amazingly creamy and oozy like it should be. Eat it as soon as possible, while it retains its beautiful texture.

Ingredients
1.1 litres (2 pints) chicken stock
1 large onion
2 cloves of garlic

3 leeks finely chopped

700g chicken
olive oil
70 g butter , plus 1 extra knob for frying
400 g risotto rice
2 wineglasses of dry white wine
115 g Parmesan cheese

Method

1. Heat the stock. Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Trim and finely chop the leeks.
2. Put 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the knob of butter into a separate pan, add the onion, garlic and leeks, and cook very slowly for about 15 minutes without colouring. This is called a soffrito. When the vegetables have softened, add the chicken and cook for 5 mins.
3. Turn the heat up and add the rice, the rice will now begin to lightly fry, so keep stirring it. After a minute it will look slightly translucent. Add wine and keep stirring – it will smell fantastic. 
4. Once the wine has cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of sea salt. Turn the heat down to a simmer so the rice doesn't cook too quickly on the outside. Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring and massaging the creamy starch out of the rice, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. This will take around 15 minutes.
5. Taste the rice to check if it’s cooked. If not, carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite. Don’t forget to check the seasoning carefully. If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked, add some boiling water.
6. Remove from the heat and add the 70g butter and grate in the Parmesan. Stir well. Place a lid on the pan and allow to sit for 2 minutes. This is the most important part of making the perfect risotto, as this is when it becomes amazingly creamy and oozy like it should be. Eat it as soon as possible, while it retains its beautiful texture.