One Pot Wonder
by Brighton Council
A quick search for ‘one pot wonders’ on the net will reveal endless recipe options. This chicken risotto is as easy as it is tasty!
Roast Chicken & Brown Rice Risotto
- Serves 6
- Prep time – 20mins
- Cooking Time – 1hr 40mins
Ingredients
- 1.5 – 2kg fresh whole chicken
- 1 whole orange or lemon, pierced all over with deep cuts
- 4 medium carrots, diced
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 4 sticks celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely diced
- 1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced
- 150g mushrooms, sliced or in small quarters
- 2 cups brown rice (or if using Arborio rice slightly reduce baking time)
- 500ml chicken or beef stock (or 2 stock cubes in 500ml boiling water)
- 1/4 cup white wine (optional)
- 1.5 tbsp rosemary, finely chopped
- Olive oil
- Salt & pepper
- Grated parmesan, to serve
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C. Heat a splash of oil in a large 30cm (min) stovetop casserole dish with lid (a Dutch Oven) over a medium-high heat. Add onion, sweet potato, carrot and celery, stirring occasionally.
After 15 mins add the garlic. Season well with salt and pepper. Fry until all veg are caramelised with colour, approx 20 mins. Meanwhile, stuff the orange or lemon into the chicken’s cavity.
Drizzle oil and a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper over the entire chicken. Place chicken over the browned vegetables, and place the pot in the oven (middle shelf) uncovered for approx 40 mins or until chicken skin is crispy golden brown.
After 20mins check the veg aren’t scorching – if they are, then pour 1/4 cup wine or water around the chicken. Bring stock to boil, or boil kettle if using stock cubes.
Remove pot from oven and evenly sprinkle (in order) rosemary, rice then mushrooms around the chicken. Pour stock around chicken until rice is covered by approx 1.5cm of liquid (top up with boiling water if need
be).
Cover with lid, place pot back in the oven and turn the temperature down to 180C. Bake for another 40 mins or until the chicken is cooked through (juices will run clear when cut), and rice is cooked but firm.
Cool the pot with lid off for 10 mins, then remove chicken and slice into portions. It’s ok to see some liquid
pooling over the rice – just stir through risotto and spoon a generous amount onto each plate and top with parmesan.
Notes
*Experiment with different root vegetables and woody herbs to play around with flavours
*If using stock cubes, reduce the amount of salt added to season the vegetables
*Leftovers – slice up leftover chicken into bite size pieces and stir through remaining risotto. Refrigerate in an airtight container.
You can follow Sarah for more recipes on Instagram @madamesaisons.
