I know it is sort of 90s early 00s cuisine, but I love risotto. It is the perfect combination of a starch (that can even be gluten free), fat, veg, and protein. The problem is, my husband has never liked it. He has always had not-so-great versions of it. Having sort of given up gluten for the most part, I have had to get creative with what to pair meat and veg with. So recently, I bought a box of risotto and made it by the instructions, served it with a filet of beef and grilled asparagus – G went bonkers for it. He didn’t even ask where the bread was, because I made the risotto with parmesan, butter and garlic. It was so creamy and delicious, he swore that I had added cream to it.
With this new door of exploration open, I have been dabbling here and there with risotto. Earlier this week, I make this simple grilled chicken over roasted tomato and mozzarella risotto. We ate every last bite, and it was so very easy to do. Even better, most every ingredient I already had on hand.
Loosely: I marinaded the chicken with olive oil, garlic, italian seasoning, salt and pepper for about an hour prior to simply grilling it. I cut the breasts in half, almost like palliards, so they weren’t so bulky and they cooked faster. I roasted grape tomatoes covered in olive oil in the oven for 40 minutes at 400. I sauteed a ton of spinach on the stove top until barely wilted. And of course I cooked the risotto to the directions, adding white wine for the first liquid dump (instead of chicken stock) after toasting the rice in olive oil. When it was al dente, I added in the roasted tomatoes, sauteed spinach and blobs of mozzarella (the small ball ones) and folded it together. G grilled the chicken, we sliced and served it over the risotto. I topped the whole dish with a little parmesan cheese, some chopped parsley and basil, and a drizzle of olive oil. It truly looked like a restaurant dish, and tasted so much better. G was floored at how good it was, he even asked for it to be put into rotation. WHAT!
same new song 