You may have guessed by now that Risotto is a firm favourite in the Bellefontaine household. Filling, easy (quick if you use a pressure cooker) and darn tasty. What's not to like? When we have a Sunday roast chicken dinner, it is usually followed on the Monday with a chicken and leek risotto for supper. So using up some of the leftover turkey by making a turkey and leek risotto a day or so after Christmas seems natural.
Everyone who has turkey will have some left overs, and it is always good to have a handful of recipes available for using them up. I will almost certainly make a simple turkey soup with some of the left overs too. For us, Boxing day dinner usually consists of cold meats served with a jacket potato and some of my winter coleslaw. Hopefully there will be enough left over after that for this risotto too. I've cooked this recipe in the pressure cooker as it is the quickest but, in case you don't have a pressure cooker, I have also included the directions to cook it conventionally.
Need more ideas for using up left overs? Take a look at my pinterest Christmas leftovers board.
Cheese Please
As someone who hates throwing away leftover food, I will often adapt a recipe to use up what I have, so when I was making this risotto for this post I opted for a slightly unconventional mixture of cheese, adding the halloumi and mozzarella I had in the fridge. It worked well. I like the way the mozzarella melted creamily into the risotto while the halloumi kept its shape and had a firmer texture. Usually I add a mixture of cheddar and Parmesan to my risottos as I nearly always have some in the fridge. Sometimes I stir in a bit of cream cheese if I have it, which gives the risotto an extra creaminess.
This being a Christmas left overs recipe, there is a good chance you will have some cheeses leftover too, so use them instead. If you have a very strong flavoured cheese like stilton, just add a little at a time until you get the flavour you like. It may not be traditional but if it avoids waste I for one are all for it.
Step by step
Chicken (or Turkey) and Leek Risotto
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon rapeseed oil
- 15 g butter
- 2 leeks trimmed sliced and washed well
- 300 g risotto rice
- 150 ml dry white wine
- 250 g leftover chicken or turkey cut into chunks
- 750 ml hot chicken or turkey stock – more if cooking by the conventional method see below
- 50 g diced mozzarella
- 50 g diced halloumi
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- grated cheddar or parmesan to serve
Instructions
In a Pressure cooker
- Heat the oil and butter in the pressure cooker and sauté the leeks for about 3 minutes until softened.
- Stir in the rice and cook for a minute or two while stirring.
- Stir in the white wine, and keep stirring until the wine has been absorbed. Add the chicken or turkey.
- Add the stock all in one go. Secure the lid and bring up to High Pressure. Cook for 7 minutes.
- Release the pressure quickly (see instruction manual for how to do this). Stir in the cheese and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper before serving.
Conventional Method
- Heat the oil and butter in a large open pan and sauté the leeks for about 3 minutes until softened.
- Stir in the rice and cook for a minute or two while stirring. Stir in the white wine and keep stirring until the wine has been absorbed.
- Add the chicken or turkey.
- Add the stock a ladleful at a time. You will need an additional 400ml/14 floz/1⅔ cups. Cook while stirring until the stock has been absorbed before adding another ladleful. Continue cooking until you have added all the stock and the rice is just tender. Add a little more liquid if required.
- Once the rice is tender, remove from the heat. Stir in the cheese. Taste and season with salt and pepper as required.
Have you made this recipe? I would love to hear from you. Did you enjoy it, did you change anything? Leave a comment and rate the recipe. Comments may be held for moderation before publishing.