Oven-Baked Chicken and Asparagus Risotto (Bill Granger)

Watching reality cooking TV shows like Hell's Kitchen and MasterChef always give me the impression that risotto is always difficult dish to cook. Often the named as the death dish, risotto seems to send many cook show contestants home.

Is risotto a really tricky dish to cook? Why are the TV shows contestants usually end with under-cooked, over-cooked, too-dry, too-water, inconsistent risotto and eventually tears? Are these being dramatize? I like to try to see if risotto is so difficult to cook...

Nay! This is absolutely no tears at all for me after cooking mine with this fool-proof oven-baked risotto recipe by Bill Granger. Maybe, it is really true that cooking risotto on stove can be difficult, producing inconsistent results. Knowing this, the more I should stick on to this oven-baked method as it works perfectly well for me.

We love this one-pot wonder dish... Here, I like to flaunt my instant success all because of the convenience of this oven-baked risotto recipe.

Oven-Baked Chicken and Asparagus Risotto (Bill Granger)

I didn't have a Le Creuset but this flameproof casserole dish has been working well for me :p

Just follow the steps and I know that I won't go wrong.

After this step, I can relax for these 15 minutes... or maybe not, I need to wrap some Christmas presents :p

Add asparagus last when the rice is cooked

Season it with Parmesan, salt and pepper.

And serve it with even more Parmesan!

Nice risotto! Nice and made with no tears!

Here's the recipe by Bill Granger (with my modification and notes in blue)

2 tbsp olive oil
500g boneless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
(I used zest of 1 whole lemon)
1 cup arborio rice
1 L (4 cups) chicken stock
(I used salt-reduced one so that I can adjust the saltiness)
175g (1 bunch) asparagus, sliced on the diagonal
35g (1/3 cup) grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180°C (or 160°C fan forced). Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large flameproof casserole dish over high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring frequently for 3-4 mins or until golden brown. Remove and set aside.

Add remaining olive oil and onion and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 mins or until onion is soft. Add garlic and lemon zest and cook, stirring for 30 secs. Add rice and stir to coat in oil. Add stock and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally.

Cover the casserole and put in the oven for 15 mins. Add asparagus, return the chicken to the casserole and bake for a further 3-4 mins or until the asparagus is bright green and just tender. Stir in Parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Serve with extra Parmesan.

Happy Baking
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