Chicken And Pea Risotto - An Italian Recipe | Greedy Gourmet

Question 1

What wine is best for cooking with?

Accepted Answer

You might think you need a really expensive bottle of wine to get some great flavor. That’s not true! In fact, you definitely shouldn’t use an expensive bottle to cook with. Save that for toasting the good times!

A decent bottle will add some excellent flavor to your dish. Not cheap, mind… if it’s not good enough to drink, it’s not good enough to cook with.

For this risotto, I’d recommend going for a dry, crisp white wine. Something like a Pinot Grigio, a Pinot Noir, a Sauvignon Blanc, a Marsala or an unoaked Chardonnay would be perfect.

Question 2

What rice should I use for risotto?

Accepted Answer

Arborio all the way.

It’s the most common rice to use when making a traditional risotto. That’s because it’s quite a starchy, short grain rice, which makes it ideal for achieving that lovely creamy texture.

Don’t be tempted to go with a standard long grain rice. If your choice of rice doesn’t have enough starch, you’ll end up with a dry rice dish – nothing like a risotto, which needs to be creamy.

The good thing about arborio is that it’s widely available – you’ll be able to find it in any supermarket or grocery store. Olive

Of course, if you want to go all out and get an extra special rice, you could go for the chef’s choice – carnaroli is the ‘rolls-royce’ of risotto rice, giving you a heavenly texture that can’t be achieved with any other type.

Still, arborio is a great risotto rice and works perfectly well with this recipe.

Question 3

Do you need to stir risotto?

Accepted Answer

To stir or not to stir… that is the question.

Add 250ml (1 cup) of stock at a time, stirring constantly, waiting for the liquid to be absorbed before adding the next cup of stock.

Question 4

Should I use butter or oil for the risotto base?

Accepted Answer

Despite what you might think, olive oil is not traditionally used in a risotto. A proper risotto should always be made with butter, which is melted in the pan before coating the rich.

This recipe calls for vegetable oil for frying the chicken. Then, once you’ve removed the chicken from the pan, you add butter to gently fry the rice.

Question 5

Should I use fresh or frozen peas?

Accepted Answer

Either works fine. If you do want to use frozen peas, defrost them before adding to the risotto. Otherwise, you’ll cool it down, which will affect the cooking process.

One little trick to quickly defrost peas – place them in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Leave them for a few minutes, then drain in a colander. Easy peasy!

Question 6

Is this a gluten free risotto?

Accepted Answer

Yes it is!

Arborio rice, the rice used in this recipe, is naturally gluten free, as are all the other ingredients.

Question 7

Should I stir the risotto at the end?

Accepted Answer

If you follow the measurements and the instructions below, you’ll end up with deliciously creamy risotto.

However, traditionalists will tell you that the last part of the risotto-making process is where the magic happens. That bit when you add the last sprinkle of grated parmesan and the final knob of butter.

This stage is called the ‘mantecare.’ The mantecare is a whisking process, where the butter and cheese are stirred vigorously into the rice. The fats from the butter and cheese blend with the starch from the rice to create the perfect creamy texture.

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