This Chicken and Leek Risotto is a delicious and creamy Italian dinner idea! A creamy Parmesan cheese rice makes this perfect as a main course recipe or side. Perfect for leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken. Gluten free.
Place the stock in a small pot and heat over medium low. You want the stock to be warm when adding it to the risotto so that the temperature change does not affect the rice.
6 cups vegetable stock
Cut your leeks, including the dark green leaves, into slices. The whites will come out in rounds and the dark green parts as strips. Place all of the sliced leeks in a bowl of water. Swish around in the water (this will help clean out the sand and dirt that is often trapped in leeks).
6 ounces leeks
In a large pot, melt 2 Tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. When melted, remove the leeks from the water and add the leeks to the pot. Toss out the dirty leek water.
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
Cook the leeks until they are just starting to brown. Remove the leeks from the pot, leaving any remaining butter, and set aside.
Add another 2 Tablespoons butter to the pot. When the butter is melted, add the rice and stir. Continue cooking to slightly toast the rice until it is just starting to show a little brown color, approximately 3-5 minutes.`
Add the white wine to the pot. Cook until the rice is almost dry, where most of the wine has been absorbed.
1 cup white wine
Add the thyme and one cup of stock to the rice. Stir continuously until most of the stock has been absorbed. Repeat this process 1/2 cup of stock at a time until the rice is cooked thoroughly. You want the rice to have just a little bit of bite left so that it is not completely mushy. Depending on your rice, you may need more or less stock for the right consistency so start tasting the rice after 4 cups.
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
When your rice is cooked through, remove the pot from the heat. Add the remaining butter, chopped chicken, leeks, and Parmesan cheese. It is important to do this before adding salt and pepper because the cheese is salty. Stir to combine and until the cheese and butter have melted into the risotto.
Taste the risotto and season with additional Parmesan, salt, and pepper as desired. Depending on your cheese, you may need no salt, or a couple teaspoons. Serve immediately.
salt, black pepper
Notes
Get arborio rice onlineor in your local grocery store in the rice section.Use any white wine that you enjoy drinking. I advise staying away from sweet wines as it will make the risotto very sweet as well. Chardonnay or sauvignon blanc are the ones I tend to use.Leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken is perfect for this risotto. If you prefer to cook the chicken, you can cook it in the risotto pot before starting the rest of the recipe. Simply season with salt and pepper and cook through.