Garlic Chicken with Roasted Carrot Risotto

Garlic Chicken with Roasted Carrot Risotto
Garlic Chicken with Roasted Carrot Risotto

It’s high time I published a recipe, especially considering I have 11 half finished recipes in my draft folder just waiting for a finishing touch or time to take a satisfactory photograph, so please accept my apologies. Do any of my readers and fellow bloggers suffer from publishing guilt as we juggle the different componants of our lives?  This week included a long promised dinner for my electrician and his partner, teaching students how to make holiday time truffles and turkish delight, coaching another group of students through food hygiene exams, and finally a family dinner for my brother and sister and their spouses. Not that I’m complaining, for this year has been a very good one in many ways!

I’ve always loved the versatility of risotto so I asked myself, can I take a humble ingredient like a carrot and create something very moreish? I first tested out my carrot and spring onion (scallion) risotto in one of my vegetarian live cooking demonstrations, and was pleased enough with the result to spend the next couple of weeks fine tuning the recipe for you guys.

Risotto Ingredients Serves 4
300 grams Arborio Rice
75 grams white onion finely diced
1200 ml chicken or vegetable stock
500 grams carrots peeled and trimmed
30 grams unsalted butter cut into small pieces
100 grams trimmed spring onions (scallions) cut lengthwise in half
150 ml dry white wine
60 g full fat cream cheese
15 grams Grana padano/parmesan grated
2 large cloves garlic peeled
1 tablespoon olive oil
10 grams Fresh Dill finely chopped
Optional extra padano/ parmesan grated
1/2 teaspoon caster sugar

Chicken:
4 x 198 gram (7oz) chicken breast with skin on
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive oil
8 unpeeled cloves garlic

Method

  1. Mix the cream cheese with the padano cheese and refridgerate.
  2. Cut the carrots into “even sized, carrot shaped pieces” and put in a saucepan with the stock . Bring the stock to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes. Now remove half of the carrots from the stock and drain well before rubbing with 1 TBsp olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
  3. Preheat the oven to 190 C (fan assisted) and roast the oiled carrots until tender then reserve.
  4. Turn the stock down to low and allow the rest of the carrots to simmer in the stock until tender. Whilst the carrots cook in the stock add the spring onion and cook until soft (about 2 minutes).  Remove spring onions, allow to cool and then cut into bite size pieces and reserve.
  5. Sweat the white onion and garlic with 30 grams butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan, until the onions are soft and translucent.
  6. Stir in the rice and allow the butter to coat the rice for 1-2 minutes, then pour in the wine and stir until the wine is absorbed.
  7. Lift the carrots from the stock with a slotted spoon and place in a blender with 150ml of the stock, purée until smooth, then reserve.
  8. Begin to add remaining stock into the rice, stir constantly making sure the rice is not sticking to the saucepan.Turn the heat down to low as you add the stock, 1 ladle at a time. Keep stirring the risotto and adding more stock until all the liquid has been absorbed into the rice (about 20 minutes) and the rice is al dente.
  9. After 15 minutes of cooking the risotto, start the chicken by getting a large nonstick frying pan hot and add the  garlic and olive oil.
  10. Now place the 4 chicken breasts skin side down and season with sea salt and black pepper.
  11. Get the chicken breast brown on both sides on a medium high heat. Then turn the breasts again so they are skin side down and place the frying pan into the oven. Cook the chicken breeasts at 190 C until their core temperature is 75 C. Remove from the oven and rest in a warm place.
  12. When the risotto is cooked, sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of sugar on the spring onions and roasted carrots,  and heat in the oven to reheat and glaze.
  13. Stir the carrot purée into the risotto, stir well and remove from the heat. Season with salt and pepper and then add the the cream cheese mixture in little pieces together with the dill.
  14. Finally, stir in the roasted carrots and spring onions and divide between 4 plates and top with your chicken breasts.

Serving Suggestions: Serve with salad of mixed leaves, tomatoes, peppers and olives.

ChefsNotes:  If Chantenay carrots are available in your area they are ideal for this recipe because they have lots of flavour.

Growing photography 12
© Copyright Michael Powell

And talking of flavour, it is hard to buy chicken breasts with the skin on these days, which is a shame because leaving the skin on helps to keep the breast moist during cooking and also adds a lot to the flavour.  Try buying your chicken breasts from your local butcher, but if you can’t why not try to debone a whole chicken to get chicken breast with skin on.   How to cut up a Whole Chicken video.

Garlic Chicken with Carrot and Spring Onion Risotto©KevinAshton 2022

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26 thoughts on “Garlic Chicken with Roasted Carrot Risotto”

    1. Those are words I love to hear Noelle and I have to say thanks to my wife Sophie for the photo.
      Recently we’ve been both taking photos of the finished dish and hers was the winner, hence the phrase….winner..winner Chicken dinner. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  10. Wonderful recipe Kevin. I see you have a few more steps to making an excellent risotto. I’m taking notes.
    Great idea to cook your carrots and scallions in broth. I’ve only sautéed them in my risotto recipe making adventures. I always have chicken broth, so it’s an easy and comforting meal. I make it often and usually use zucchini from my garden. Still have a few. Asparagus is a winner here also.
    I’m hungry and it’s almost 4AM in California. Why am i even on my phone?
    I have guilt about not blogging as well. We feed our families and loved ones constantly which doesn’t allow as much time for writing.

    Thanks for the inspiration chef.
    Merry Christmas 🎄

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks Teri, We all have moments in the year were we vacillate from not blogging enough to trying to play catchup late into the early hours. The main thing is we are still all here, and enjoying the interaction that blogging gives us.

      Like

      Reply

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