Like most of you I tend to roast a whole chicken on a Friday but I am often left with not quite enough for a second meal for all of us.
One way of stretching this meagre portion is to incorporate the leftover meat into a pie or risotto; but often we do not have the time for all the stirring and watching a risotto takes.
I have been scouring the net and various cookbooks and am going to share a recipe that I have rewritten to incorporate this baked technique and the laws of kashrut. It is also another good way of using up the left over chicken soup too.
Baked Butternut Squash, Chicken and Sage Risotto
Ingredients:
1 medium onion chopped
500g cubed butternut squash
1 - 2 tablespoons oil or margarine
100ml white wine (optional)
700ml hot chicken stock
500g leftover cubed cooked chicken
300g Arborio or Carnaroli (risotto) rice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 small handful fresh sage chopped
1 small bunch parsley chopped
freshly ground black pepper
Method:
Heat the oven to 200c, heat the oil on medium in a flameproof casserole that has a lid and gently fry the chopped onion and butternut squash and sage in a tablespoon or two of oil until soft and starting to brown at the edges.
Tip in the rice and stir to coat in the oil. Add the wine, if using, and allow it to absorb into the rice. Add the chicken, salt and the hot chicken stock and cover with a tightly fitting lid. If the lid is a bit loose, cover the dish with foil before putting the lid on to make it snugger. Place the casserole in the oven and cook for 18-20 minutes until the rice is just tender and creamy.
Spoon into bowls and garnish with freshly ground pepper and chopped parsley
