Chicken Cacciatore Risotto

This recipe came to me through another recipe swap hosted by the blog Taste of Home Cooking. The theme was Italian recipes, and I was given this one for Chicken Cacciatore Risotto by the author of the blog Taste and See.



I LOVE risotto, have made it with so many different ingredients and flavors, so I was excited to get this one. Now even though I have made risotto many times, I have never made it with meat.. well, except bacon. I usually have risotto as a side, but this one was a nice entree risotto. And I love Chicken Cacciatore so I had a feeling this would be good.



My parents came over for dinner and really enjoyed it. And no surprise, our daughter loved it too! She ate every last bite and was looking for more.



I made one major change to the recipe - it called for red wine, but I have made risotto with red wine before and didn't like it (too rich and heavy). Also, I make my chicken cacciatore with white wine, so I decided to keep it light and use white instead of red. I also used an Italian Seasoning blend that I had instead of the Herbs de Provence - I compared the ingredients in both and the Italian Seasoning was only missing the fennel, something I don't like anyway. I also added a touch more thyme. My variation on the recipe is below.



Ingredients

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning blend and 1 tsp dried thyme
  
  
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
  
  
• 1 c arborio rice
• 1/2 c white wine
  
  
• 4 c chicken broth
  
  
• 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with the juices
  
  
• 1 shallot, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 6 ounces crimini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into strips (I chopped the peppers to keep them bite sized and so my daughter could easily eat them)
  
  
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• fresh parsley, minced (I didn't have any so I used about 2 tbsp dried parsley)

Directions

• Season the chicken with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and thyme.
  
  
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and coat with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Add the chicken and cook 5-7 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Remove chicken and set aside. Shred the chicken, and reserve for the risotto.
  
  
• Add 1 Tablespoon of the butter and 1 tbsp oil to a clean skillet. When melted, add the shallot, and cook until softened, 3 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds.
• Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring the chicken stock and diced tomatoes to a simmer. Cover and allow to simmer continuously.
• Add the rice to the skillet, and cook, stirring continuously, until the edges are translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium-low. Add the wine, and stir continuously, until it is mostly absorbed.
• Working 1-2 ladles at a time, add the chicken broth/tomato mixture to the rice, stirring constantly, until almost all the liquid has been absorbed. After about 10 minutes, add the peppers and mushrooms to the rice mixture.
• Continue adding liquid until the rice is cooked to al dente, about 20 minutes total. Taste to check the rice. When cooked to al dente, add 1 more ladle of chicken broth, and remove from heat. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, and parsley.
  
  
• Top risotto with the chicken and serve.