If today you wanted to cook something from Italian cuisine or enjoy something unusual and unusual, then you have come to the right place! Today is the time to figure out how to make risotto with mushrooms and chicken at home, as well as find out the history of this dish.
The value of risotto
To begin, let's find out what kind of dish is this - risotto? This is a traditional Italian dish, which appeared relatively recently, but when exactly, no one knows for sure. Translated from Italian into Russian, the word risotto literally means “small rice”. This is one of the main features of this dish - it uses small and hard rice. Risotto is incomparable with any other seemingly similar dish, since all the ingredients are added step by step in a certain sequence, which makes it special. It has long been customary to serve this feast to people of noble estates, but this was not immediately, and why, you can find out below.
Risotto is a simple dish to prepare, in which you can experiment with spices, miss some products from the original recipe or, conversely, add them. Options for restaurant quality and home-style, of course, will differ, but if you decide to cook a dish in accordance with all the rules of Italian cuisine, then this article is especially for you. If you can observe all the subtleties, then significantly increase your cooking skill, not only in the field of Italian cuisine, but also in general.
The calorie content of this dish is approximately 110 kcal per 100 g, that is, it is a moderate-calorie meal that will not harm your figure in any way if you allow yourself one serving for lunch or as an early dinner. You don’t need much time to prepare the risotto, but it all depends on you: if you do several things in parallel, then you will spend no more than an hour on the preparation.
Versions of Risotto Appearance
The very history of the emergence of this dish is covered in darkness, and no one can tell you reliably and accurately how, who and when invented it. There are many different versions, let's look at a few of them.
- The first version tells the story of an absent-minded cook who originally cooked soup in a restaurant, but eventually forgotten, and the whole broth boiled away. Having no more time to prepare a new one, he decided to serve such a dish to the table and, fortunately, the guests really liked it. Later, this recipe was officially recorded in many cookbooks in various variations.
- There is also a version that the risotto came from artists. This version is most common among cooking enthusiasts. A rather unusual story occurred in Milan. It all started with the fact that the master, who was decorating the cathedral with his assistants, reproached one of them for using saffron too often, for which he was nicknamed Saffron. The master said to the assistant: "At this rate, saffron and risotto will begin to add!" He was very offended by the remark and at the wedding of the master’s daughter he put the same saffron in the risotto. The guests were surprised by the color of the dish, but having tried it, they appreciated it.
- And finally, the last, most famous legend, but it is rather not about the origin of the risotto itself, but about its main component - rice. It consists in the fact that the once Milanese ruler sent his subject a bag of grain unknown at that time to anyone. The grain was planted, after which a rich harvest was harvested, since the Italian climate was ideal for growing round-grain rice. He was saving for the inhabitants of Italy exhausted by hunger and war.
These interesting stories have long been passed on by word of mouth, and now we can at least guess which of these legends is true. But at the moment, it’s more important for us only that this dish has already been invented and we can easily enjoy it.
Product Selection Criteria
As already indicated above, the main and leading role in this dish is rice. For true risotto, only a few varieties of rice are suitable. This, for example, arborio (it is most often used, since it is easier to find in our stores) or carnaroles. Why are only certain rice varieties suitable? Because they contain the necessary type of starch, which, as it were, softens the rice, but at the same time keeps the core firm, which does not allow the rice to turn into porridge.
An equally important component is the broth. Of course, it can be varied (use meat or fish), but chicken broth still prevails in the traditional risotto. In order to add more aroma and taste to your risotto, you can add various seasonings and spices, onions, carrots or any other vegetables to your taste in the broth. Do not forget about such seemingly trifles that you need to cook the broth in well-purified water - this also plays an important role.
The next ingredient can be missed in cooking at home, but it also gives aroma and taste, and in a traditional risotto without it anywhere. It's about wine. White dry wine is officially used, but if you want to experiment, you can take semi-sweet and red, all according to your taste preferences.
Of course, risotto does not happen without cheese. Cheese is usually used hard varieties, and most often, of course, parmesan.
As for mushrooms, many mushrooms are suitable, but champignons are preferred. Risotto with porcini mushrooms is also a culinary masterpiece. This dish is in no way inferior to the counterpart with mushrooms.
Now, after we have learned the story and sorted out a little with the choice of products, we can proceed directly to the preparation of the mushroom risotto recipe. We will consider the photo and purchase the necessary ingredients.
Ingredients
In our article, the components for mushroom risotto are described in approximately 3 portions, but if necessary, you yourself can easily increase them if there are more guests.
So, we need:
- Rice - 150 g.
- Chicken Broth - 500 g.
- Dry white wine - 150 g.
- Cheese - 50 g.
- Ceps or champignons - 200 g.
- Onion - 1 head.
- Butter - 30 g.
- Garlic - 2-3 cloves (to taste).
- Greens to taste.
- Chicken - 200 g.
- Salt, pepper and other spices to taste.
If you have prepared all the necessary products, then a delicious classic home-made risotto recipe is specially presented for you below.
The first stage: cooking chicken stock
For a risotto recipe with mushrooms, you can pre-cook chicken broth, preferably from chicken legs or wings, so it will be more saturated and tasty, but if you want to put more chicken in the risotto, you can also use breast. The broth can be either the most ordinary, consisting only of chicken, or with the addition of vegetables and seasonings, which will only improve your dish.
Second stage: vegetable frying
Now you can start frying. First, heat the pan and add butter: it is believed that risotto tastes better in butter, not in olive. This is due to the fact that olive trees were not previously grown in Italy, so it is customary to cook risotto in butter.
When the pan is sufficiently heated, add the onions and garlic, which can be grated or cut into small cubes, as you like. Put the chopped mushrooms a little later. At this stage, it is best to add boiled chicken.
Stage Three: Rice Roasting
Now let's start processing rice. First, rinse it thoroughly, and then, taking a separate roomy frying pan, fry it also in butter. The main thing here is not to overdo it, otherwise the risotto will lose all its uniqueness in the end.
Now just mix the slightly fried rice with onions and mushrooms. At this point, you should begin to slowly add wine. Add it a little bit until it completely evaporates.
Fourth step: adding broth
It is easy to guess that after the wine will go immediately broth, which according to the same principle must be added to rice: until almost completely boil away. Do not forget to periodically stir your risotto with mushrooms, so that the lower layers are in no way burnt.
Final stage: design
Next, grate the cheese and, if you want, chop the greens and also add to your risotto for taste.
Note: the fifth point can be completely missed if you do not want to add wine to the risotto with mushrooms and chicken, since it does not play a leading role in this dish, although it is considered a traditional ingredient.
Well, the time has come to serve your food. The chicken and mushroom risotto recipe wasn’t as complicated as it might have seemed. When the cooking is behind, you should treat yourself and your loved ones. Fragrant food will be the reward for all the work.