Ingredients (For Four)

• 1 Cup Arborio rice
• Warm chicken stock (the amount you need exactly is hard to judge but try to have a litre/two pints around)
• Seasonings: Salt, black pepper, parsley, chives, basil
• 2 Garlic cloves (finely chopped)
• 1tbsp Lemon juice
• 1 Chicken breast, or equivalent, pre-cooked/from leftovers
• 4 Slices of bacon, pre-cooked/from leftovers: Not too crispy! (chopped)

• Optional: Mozzarella (shredded)
• Optional: Salad items, cucumber, tomato, lettuce, just the basics to make a fresh side dish

Method

1. Place garlic into a medium-sized saucepan on a medium heat
2. After 30 seconds add the lemon juice and chopped bacon
3. After another 30 seconds add the arborio rice and give everything a good mix together
4. Slowly add the first ladle of stock and keep letting it absorb into the rice until you need to add more
5. After the first ladle has been absorbed add seasonings to personal taste and more stock
6. Keep tasting a bit of the rice to check to see if it has cooked, repeating the ladle of stock adding process until it is almost fully done
7. Add the chicken, this will give it enough time to heat through, get a little moisture but not become dry. You might need to add one more ladle of stock after this step but aim for about half. Always better to need to add more than have over-cooked rice or a soggy risotto
8. Remove from the heat. At this point I serve up and mix the mozzarella into my own bowl of risotto but if you know that everybody is okay with cheese then you can add it directly to the saucepan here

Eating And Storage Tips

Allow the risotto to fully cool down before you add it to Tupperware and put it in the fridge. Doing it before this will cause the steam to get stuck in the Tupperware and make for a not great reheated experience, even if it is just a small amount of extra liquid.

If you know you will be creating leftovers with this, stick to adding the cheese to each served portion. It is best to do this because otherwise when you go to put it into the microwave for reheating it gives it a funny texture and sometimes any oils can seep from the cheese and cause an unpleasing mouth feel. I would usually blast it on full for about 90-120 seconds depending on the portion size.

If you are using leftover meat for this please be mindful of how many days you have already had it hanging around for and opt on the side of caution with reheating. This can easily be eaten cold as well if you don’t want to take that sort of a risk; If you are doing this it works even better with a bit salad.