Pesto Goat Cheese Risotto With Blackened Chicken and Zucchini
Risotto is one of my favorite dishes. Growing up, I used to always think it was complicated to make due to the lengthy amount of time recipes called for. I was also constantly disappointed because it seemed like the most common risotto dish at restaurants was mushroom risotto and I don’t love little fungal friends in my meals. So… I finally decided to try Giada De Laurentiis’s Dirty Risotto recipe (which is delicious by the way and I totally recommend) and while it took a while to make, it really wasn’t all that complicated! Ever since that day, I’ve been testing out different risotto recipes of my own and this Pesto Goat Cheese Risotto is a delicious version. It’s great on its own, but I like to pair it with blackened chicken to balance the bright and tangy flavors of the pesto and goat cheese with some heat. Don’t be deterred by the 2 hour cook time - it’s well worth the wait!
RECIPE - yields 4-6 servings
TIME - 2 hours
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE PESTO
2 cups fresh basil
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons pine nuts
3 cloves of garlic
FOR THE CHICKEN
~1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
FOR THE RISOTTO
1 hefty cup fresh pesto (recipe above yields approximately 1 cup)
1 lb blackened chicken breast tenders
1 small zucchini, sliced into crescents
1.5 cups Arborio Rice
1/4 cup dry white wine or champagne
4.5 cups vegetable stock
1/4 cup white onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 - 6 oz goat cheese (depending on how much you like goat cheese)
3 tablespoons salted butter
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted in 1 tablespoon of butter and salted, for garnish
Parmesan cheese for garnish
Salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
Make the pesto by combining basil, garlic cloves, and pine nuts in a food processor or nutribullet. Pulse until somewhat broken down. Add in cheeses and olive oil and pulse until smooth. Set aside.
Make the blackened chicken by combining all seasonings into a bowl and coating chicken breast tenders generously on both sides. Set aside on half of a greased baking sheet.
Slice zucchini into crescents. Coat evenly in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Set aside on the other half of the greased baking sheet.
Toast pine nuts in 1 tablespoon of butter for 2-3 minutes on low heat. Salt and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon of salted butter. Add in white onion and cook for 3-4 minutes on medium heat until onions are mostly cooked and lightly browned. Add in garlic and continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
Add in vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Then keep on low heat simmering.
Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a large nonstick skillet. Add in Arborio Rice and coat evenly in butter. Continue to stir and lightly toast rice over medium heat.
Add in white wine or champagne to the rice mixture and continue to stir every so often. Let the rice absorb liquid, about 5 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Over medium heat, add in simmering vegetable stock mixture about 3/4 cup at a time, stirring regularly, and letting the rice absorb the liquid. Each batch should absorb liquid for about 10 minutes. (6 batches total ~ 60 minutes) Take a break after batch 3 and place chicken and zucchini in the oven (next step). Once all vegetable stock mixture has been added, the rice should be almost completely cooked and only have a very slight bite.
Once you’ve added about half the vegetable stock, place your prepared baking sheet with chicken and zucchini in a 400 degrees F oven and cook for 25 minutes until zucchini is slightly crisp and chicken is cooked through (160 degrees F).
After all vegetable stock mixture has been added, stir in the pesto then the goat cheese. Continue cooking for another 4-5 minutes until combined and melted.
If rice is still at all hard, continue cooking over low heat stirring regularly until completely tender.
Stir in zucchini with risotto. Serve in a large bowl and top with chicken breast tenders, toasted pine nuts, and additional Parmesan cheese.