Pieday Friday – Baked Spanish chicken & chorizo risotto

This week I’ve tried out a recipe that I’ve never attempted before. I love risotto yet I’m not really patient enough to spend ages stirring it until it’s ready, so we rarely eat it at home. Seeing as it’s one of my favourite dishes I really hoped that there was a less time-consuming option out there. I did a little research and discovered a way to ‘cheat’ making a risotto – by baking it! Yes, it IS possible to take a short-cut to a yummy soft risotto. I was sceptical at first, imagining a rice-pudding style dish, but when I read through method it seemed simple enough so I thought I’d give it a go. Thankfully, it turned out well and it really could have been a ‘proper’ risotto; it was soft, creamy and, thanks to lots of yummy Mediterranean flavours, it was delicious! I was inspired by Spain when I decided on the ingredients for my risotto recipe. I usually go for a chicken and mushroom risotto so it was exciting to add a few more spices and flavours to the dish. Here are the ingredients I used and the method for baking a Spanish risotto for four people.

300g risotto rice, 1 diced green pepper, 250g cherry tomatoes, splash of olive oil, 1 red onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 diced chicken breasts, 1 small chorizo, a couple of sprigs of rosemary, 1 litre of chicken stock, salt and pepper to taste.

1. Sautee the onion, garlic, green pepper, chorizo and chicken breasts in an oven-proof pan until lightly browned.
2. Stir in the risotto rice, rosemary and cherry tomatoes.
3. Pour in the litre of hot chicken stock and put in the oven at 220 degrees for around 30 minutes until the rice has softened.

Simple, huh? That evening we tucked into a tasty risotto that no one would have guessed was made with such minimal effort! Let me know if you have a go at baking a risotto by leaving me a comment below or tweeting me your photos to @Cassiefairy.