Risotto with Chicken

Name: Risotto with Chicken (Risotto al Polio)
Prep time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: Serves 4 as a main course or 6 as part of a multicourse Italian meal
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: 1¾ cups rice for risotto (Arborio, Carnaroli, or Vialone Nano); 6 cups homemade meat broth or ½ each beef and chicken bouillon cube dissolved in 6 cups water; Freshly ground black pepper; Salt; ½ small yellow onion; 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 1 medium carrot; 2 ounces pancetta, thinly sliced; 1½ pounds bone-in chicken thighs or 1 pound boneless thighs; 1½ cups canned whole peeled tomatoes with their juice; ⅓ cup dry white wine

Risotto al Polio

Preparation info

Serves
4
as a main course

Difficulty
Medium
Ready in
1 hr 30

Appears in

How to Cook Italian

By Giuliano Hazan

Published 2005

About

Using chicken for a pasta sauce or risotto base is challenging because chicken has a mild flavor and a sauce or risotto base must be flavorful enough to season the pasta or rice. In this recipe I use only the more flavorful dark meat, which also allows me to cook the chicken longer to concentrate flavors without drying out the meat.

Ingredients

1½ pounds bone-in chicken thighs or 1 pound boneless thighs
½ small yellow

Method

If you have chicken thighs on the bone, remove the skin and cut the flesh away from the bone. Cut the chicken into ½-inch pieces.
Peel and finely chop the onion. Peel and dice the carrot. Put the olive oil with the onion and carrot in a large heavy-bottomed braising pan. Place over medium-high heat and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onion and carrot begin