Cacciatore, Basil'd Chicken and Blue Cheese Risotto

Not very many ingredients (for me), little prep, lots of flavour. Both the cacciatore and blue I used in this recipe I bought from a local deli on a whim and I was really impressed with both. Cooking the chicken and toasting the grains in the rendered cacciatore oil was the key to this recipe and, the blue made it really luscious. The cacciatore was Tomewin Farm Mild Cacciatore and the blue Tarago River Shadows of Blue. The blue was not too pungent (enough for my wife to actually like it) and was really creamy. The cacciatore was similarly not overpowering, unlike a lot of small goods I find to be. If you can get your hands on them, you won't be disappointed.

As always with my recipes, if you don't have something, substitute or leave it out but, whatever you can include however will add to the risotto's depth.

1/2 a cacciatore in thin-ish slices

4 chicken thigh fillets

1 tbs chopped rosemary

Salt and pepper
1 tbs oven roasted cherry tomato oil
2 handfuls basil leaves
2 shallots in fine dice (or 1 small onion)
2 cloves garlic minced
1 clove garlic bashed a bit
2 cups risotto rice
1 cup white wine

A mushroom version

1 litre chicken stock

1 pinch saffron threads

Olive oil

2 tbs chopped parsley (stalks reserved)

2 or 3 tbs blue cheese (will depend on its severity)

Lemon

Combine the chicken thigh fillets, salt and pepper, rosemary and oven roasted cherry tomato oil. Line the bottom of a plate with the basil leaves. Add the chicken stock to a small saucepan, add in the parsley stalks and bashed garlic and heat until simmering.

Heat a little olive oil to a medium heat in a large heavy based saucepan with high sides. Add in the cacciatore slices, frying both sides until they have some colour, remove to the plate with the basil, cover and place in a warm place. Add the chicken thighs to the same pan and cook in the same oil until it has colour and is cooked through. Remove to the basil/cacciatore plate, covering as many basil pieces as possible, cover and keep warm.

Saute the onions and minced garlic in the cacciatore oil until translucent then, add and toast the risotto grains for a couple of minutes. Deglaze with the white wine, scrapping up any bits. From this point add 1 or 2 ladles of stock at a time when each previous one is almost absorbed. When the stock is almost all gone, try a few rice grains, if they are still quite uncooked add more stock to your saucepan and continue until cooked. This should take about 18 - 20 minutes. Toward the end of the cooking process, chop half of the chicken and dice all of the cooked cacciatore. Discard the basil but reserve the resting juice.

When adding the final ladle, add the blue cheese, juice from the cooked chicken, the chopped chicken, the cacciatore, parsley, check for seasoning and add the lid and turn off the heat. Allow to sit for 4 for 5 minutes.

Spoon the risotto into warmed bowls, top with sliced chicken pieces and a squeeze of lemon.

mushroom version again