Chicken, basil pesto & courgette risotto

Name: Chicken, basil pesto & courgette risotto
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: Herb Salad or a Green Salad; sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1 recipe quantity Crispy Fried Shallots (optional); Herb Salad or a Green Salad; 1 tbsp olive oil; 75 g/2½ oz/5 tbsp unsalted butter; 750 ml/26 fl oz/3 cups hot Vegetable Stock; 200 ml/7 fl oz/scant 1 cup dry white wine; 1 courgette (zucchini), finely diced; 1 courgette (zucchini), finely diced; 2 garlic cloves, finely diced; 1 large onion, finely diced; 250 g/9 oz/scant 1¼ cups risotto rice, such as Arborio; 250 g/9 oz/scant 1¼ cups risotto rice, such as Arborio; juice and zest of ½ lemon; 150 g/5½ oz Parmesan cheese, grated, plus extra for serving; sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1 tbsp chives; 4 skinless chicken breasts; 2 tbsp olive oil; 100 ml/3½ fl oz/scant ½ cup double (heavy) cream; 3-4 tbsp Fresh Basil Pesto

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
55 min

Appears in

The Good Chicken Cookbook

By Marcus Bean

Published 2024

About

Once you master the basics of risotto, the options are endless. To make it easier on busy weekdays, you can make the base in advance, then finish it off just before serving. If you like, you could top it with some of my crispy fried shallots.

Ingredients

For the Risotto Base

1 tbsp olive oil
75 g/2½ oz/5

Europe
Italy
Main course
Mediterranean
Gluten-free

Method

Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and fry for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Stir in the rice to coat it in the onion mixture. Pour in the wine and stir until it is absorbed by the rice.

Add a small ladleful of the hot stock and stir until the stock has been absorbed by the rice before adding the next ladleful.