Traditional Chicken And Rice From Lombardia

This is my new favorite one dish dinner. I was thumbing through Lidia Bastianich’s book “Lidia Cooks From The Heart Of Italy” when I found this recipe. It’s simple and you probably have most of the ingredients in your cupboard. The only thing I had to buy was the chicken.

I frequently use Arborio rice to make risotto, but this is the first time that I cooked it in this manner, without all the stirring. What really gives this dish its rich flavor is the pestata-the combination of onions, garlic, carrots and celery that have been finely chopped. This recipe makes enough for 4 to 6 and I’m happy to say that we have plenty of leftovers for another meal. It was so tasty that I had to stop myself from eating a second bowlful.

Traditional Chicken And Rice

1½ pounds boneless , skinless chicken thighs
1 cup onion, cut in 1-inch chunks
1 cup carrot, cut in 1-inch chunks
1 cup celery , cut in 1-inch chinks
2 plump garlic cloves, peeled
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 fresh bay leaf
1 cup dry white wine
5 cups hot chicken or turkey stock, plus more if needed
2 cups Italian short-grain rice, such as Arborio, Carnaroli, or Vialone Nano

For finishing
2 tablespoons butter, cut in pieces
3 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
½ cup Grana Padano, or Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
Trim any excess fat from the chicken thighs, and cut them into 1-inch chunks.

Using a food processor, mince the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic into a fine-textured pestata. Pour the olive oil in the saucepan, and set over medium-high heat. Stir in the pestata, and season with 1 teaspoon of the salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the pestata has dried and begins to stick to the bottom of the pan.

Toss in the chicken pieces and the bay leaf, and sprinkle over it the remaining 2 teaspoons salt. Tumble and stir the chicken in the pan until browned and caramelized all over, about 4 minutes. Raise the heat, pour in the white wine, and cook, stirring and scraping up the browned bits in the pan, until the wine has almost completely evaporated.

Pour in the hot stock, stirring, then all the rice. Bring to the boil over high heat, cover the pan, and reduce the heat to keep the riso bubbling gently. Cook for about 14 minutes, or until both the rice and the chicken chunks are fully cooked and the consistency is creamy.

Turn off the heat, drop in the butter pieces, and stir vigorously until thoroughly amalgamated, then stir in the parsley and 1/2 cup of grated cheese. Spoon the riso into warm pasta bowls and serve immediately, passing additional grated cheese at the table.