Mushroom Risotto with Chicken and Turkey Sausage

I am really bad, not Michael Jackson bad but a bad human being because a very good friend Amna Raheel requested me to make Risotto and I did not make it until months later.

Reasons for not making it are :

1. I have never had Risotto so I did not have faith in someone else's selection.
2. Me being lazy.
3. Me being ignorant.
4. Me being lazy.
5. Me just not wanting to do anything with my life and being lazy.

After seeing how it is made I found out that it is not that hard but you just have to stand on the stove and have a constant eye on the stove because basically you are cooking rice BUT a very different type of rice not your usual basmati.

Mom used to say "The best rice are cooked when you stand over the stove and keep an eye on it." Do not even want to mention how much kilograms of rice I ruined and learn that the hard way.

INGREDIENTS:

1 and 1/3rd cup of arborio rice (you can also use jasmine rice)

6 Boneless chicken thighs (you can use breast as well)

Chunks of turkey sausage

A can of button mushrooms or 6 white mushrooms

Medium onion finely chopped

4 Garlic cloves finely chopped

1 Red bell pepper chopped

A can of diced tomatoes (400 grams)

2 Teaspoons of dried oregano

 2.5 Cups of chicken broth

Salt and black pepper to taste

Half a cup of green peas (mutter agar kisi ko english nahi ati)

Fresh parsley finely chopped

Parmesan cheese for garnishing and obviously taste

DISCLAIMER - most of my time was spen on dicing and slicing the vegetables and other things for this recipe so following are the pictures which are a proof of my SUGARHNESS. Also this was my first time that I cut so many things without cutting myself so that has to be an achievement like for people being successful in their life is an achievement but this is actually my biggest achievement so far.

Let's start off with melting some butter in a non-stick pan rather than melting someone's heart and breaking it later on and adding 2 tablespoons of oil in it.

Place the chicken thighs when the oil and butter is hot.

Season them with salt and pepper. Cook one side till golden brown, flip and cook the other one till golden brown.

Take them out on a paper towel plate.

LISTEN ! Silence of the chicken

Now in the same oil we will fry the chopped garlic and onion.

IN THE SAME OIL EVEN IF IT LOOKS BURNT WE WILL NOT THROW IT AWAY BECAUSE IT WILL HAVE ALL OF THE FLAVOR FROM THE CHICKEN.

Got it?

We will cook it until the onions are translucent and then add mushrooms to it.

Fry the onion for 2-3 minutes and add turkey sausage.

The sausage won't take long to cook you just go ahead and add the arborio rice. Give it a little stir and add the cooked chicken as well.

Add the can of diced tomatoes, dried oregano.

Mix it properly and add 2 and a half cups of chicken broth that you can make from chicken cubes.

Bring it up to a boil.

Cover with a lid and simmer (COOK ON LOW HEAT) for 20-25 minutes.

BUT keep a frequent check on the rice.

THIS IS EXACTLY HOW MY BLOOD BOILS WHEN I SEE YOUR FACE

Remove the lid and add salt, black pepper to the dish.

Add chopped parsley and give it a good stir.

Add half cup of green peas in it. Again give it a good mix and season the dish with salt and black pepper.

Put the lid on again and simmer for five minutes and the Risotto is cooked.

After five minutes things should look something like the picture below (if it is not something like that then congratulations you shouldn't be in the kitchen at all) and after you let it sit out for a couple of minutes it is time to plate it.

Top it with more fresh finely chopped parsley and grate some parmesan cheese on it.

Feast your eyes.

Spicy Chicken Rigatoni

Its been a while since I have made a pasta recipe and by saying "its been a while" I reminded myself of the Staind song which was my favorite back in the day when the album came out.

I have made many types and shapes of pasta but the one that I wanted to make from quite some time was Rigatoni. The shape of Rigatoni is like a small piece of a pipe opened from the both sides, I'm just trying to make this recipe sound funny nothing else.

The recipe is called Spicy Chicken Rigatoni and it has tomatoes, cheese, cream and there is absolutely NO ONE IN THIS ENTIRE UNIVERSE who can say no to this beautiful thing.

The ingredients for this are few and not hard to find. The only thing here is fresh basil leaves which might be a problem to find on a store but you can go to any nursery and ask them for a "tulsi ka pata plant(basil leave plant)" and you will get a whole plant in just 30 rupees. Have it planted in your house somewhere. I grow my basil at home as well (itna mein kisaan).

INGREDIENTS:

500 grams boneless chicken breast (each breast should be thinly sliced in half)

450 grams rigatoni pasta

1 medium onion finally chopped

4 garlic cloves minced or finely chopped

2 cans of chopped tomatoes (800 grams in total)

5 fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup of cream

1/2 cup of grated Adam's chili cheese

1 tablespoon of red chili flakes

1/2 cup boiled peas

salt, black pepper, red pepper and paprika as per taste for seasoning the chicken

  

First of all we will cook the pasta al dente.

Season the chicken on both sides well with salt, black pepper, red pepper and paprika.

Heat 2-3 tablespoon of oil in a pan an saute the chicken pieces for 4 minutes on each side.

Take the chicken pieces out on a wooden cutting slab and let it cool down.

Cut cubes out of the cooked chicken and keep it aside.

  

  

Heat another 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and fry chopped onion on low heat until translucent.

Then add chopped garlic and saute it for another minute.

  

Saute the ginger for a minute as well and add the red chili flakes and chopped basil leaves.

  

Cook all of it for a minute and add both cans of chopped tomatoes.

THERE IS A REASON WHY I USE CANNED TOMATOES IN PASTA ONLY - That reason is because of flavor which is developed by the juices these cans contain. PERIOD

Add salt and a little sugar. Add a cup of water.

Cover the pan with a lid and let it simmer for 20 minutes.

  

Uncover the pan after 20 minutes and stir for a couple of times.

Add cream and grate cheese in the tomato pasta sauce.

  

Simmer it for 10 more minutes and the add cooked cube cut chicken. Mix it properly and add the cooked pasta.

  

And we will not forget to add the boiled peas which are totally optional. They are the part of the original recipe and I love peas so I am not skipping it but PEOPLE HAVE SHOWN A SERIOUS DISLIKE ABOUT PEAS on my snapchat so you can be my guest and skip this step.

The pasta is ready. You can present it in a bowl and garnish it with some Parmesan Cheese and chopped basil leaves.

Ladies and gentlemen twist your tongues for Spicy Chicken Rigatoni.