Pasta Grannies' chicken stew risotto recipe
Carla, one of the Pasta Grannies taking social media by storm with their delicious Italian home cooking, shared this hearty recipe with Vicky Bennison, the author of Pasta Grannies: Comfort Cooking. Carla's son Luigi thinks this dish is even better if you swap the chicken for pheasant. He says: "It’s a great dish for autumn, when the fog doesn’t leave the fields."
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1.8 kg (4 lb) free-range chicken, jointed into 10 pieces, or 2 hen pheasants
- 1 tbsp rosemary needles
- 1 red onion, diced
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp salt
- 150 ml red wine
- 400 g passata
- 360 g Carnaroli rice
- 1 pan of simmering water, as needed
- 75 g grated Parmigiano Reggiano (or as much as you like)
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 4 lbs (4 lb) free-range chicken, jointed into 10 pieces, or 2 hen pheasants
- 1 tbsp rosemary needles
- 1 red onion, diced
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp salt
- 5.3 fl oz red wine
- 14.1 oz passata
- 12.7 oz Carnaroli rice
- 1 pan of simmering water, as needed
- 2.6 oz grated Parmigiano Reggiano (or as much as you like)
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 4 lbs (4 lb) free-range chicken, jointed into 10 pieces, or 2 hen pheasants
- 1 tbsp rosemary needles
- 1 red onion, diced
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp salt
- 0.6 cup red wine
- 14.1 oz passata
- 12.7 oz Carnaroli rice
- 1 pan of simmering water, as needed
- 2.6 oz grated Parmigiano Reggiano (or as much as you like)
Details
- Cuisine: Italian
- Recipe Type: Risotto
- Difficulty: Medium
- Preparation Time: 30 mins
- Cooking Time: 150 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
- Heat the oil in a casserole or Dutch oven over a medium heat and, when hot, add a few of the chicken pieces – don’t overcrowd the casserole or the meat will steam. Brown the chicken pieces in batches, then set to one side.
- Finely chop the rosemary needles. Add the onion to the casserole with the rosemary, bay leaf and salt and sauté for about 7 minutes until soft but not brown.
- Deglaze with half of the red wine, let the alcohol evaporate, then return the chicken to the casserole with the passata.
- Reduce the heat to a medium low, cover with a lid and simmer until the chicken is cooked, adding water if the sauce starts to catch on the bottom. This should take a good hour. Take the breast pieces out after 30 minutes to stop them from drying out too much; cut them into bite-sized pieces and return them at finishing stage. Remove the cooked chicken and, when it is cool enough to handle, pull the meat off the bones in chunks. Put to one side, covered with kitchen foil to keep warm.
- Check the seasoning of the sauce in the casserole, adding more salt if necessary.
- Tip the rice into the sauce along with the rest of the wine and give everything a good stir. Keep stirring. Whenever you can see the bottom of the pan as you scrape a wooden spoon through the mixture, add a splash of simmering water. Depending on your rice, the grains will take about 18 minutes to cook. Nibble a couple of grains every few minutes to check for doneness. Carnaroli rice is very forgiving but you don’t want mushy risotto.
- Stir the chicken through the risotto with the grated Parmigiano. Check the seasoning once again, then serve.
Recipe extracted from Pasta Grannies: Comfort Cooking by Vicky Bennison, published by Hardie Grant, £22. Photography by Lizzie Mayson.
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