Dave’s Grilled Chicken Risotto

My beautiful Wife spent the day shopping with her sister and so I knew that when she came home she would be in the mood for some comfort food. She is a meat-and-potatoes girl, so I knew that whatever I fixed had BETTER have meat in it.

OK, so I’ve had Risotto on the brain lately. I love that creamy texture. Risotto is a blank canvas. I love the way you can take a few simple ingredients and turn it into anything you want.

Thanks to Adam and the Carnival of the Grill, grilling has been in the forefront of my mind. So, I thought, “What about a Grilled Chicken Risotto?

I made a paste of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, minced garlic, and some freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley and basted some chicken thighs with it while they were grilling. And borrowing from a Willams-Sonoma receipe, I added some carmelized onions and leek to the risotto and the result was pretty darn good.

For the most part, I am simply a recipe-follower. It is not often that I just ‘wing it’ like this.

Update: My wife loved it.

Dave’s Grilled Chicken Risotto

For the Chicken:

4 skinless boneless chicken thighs
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons finely chopped italian flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil

For the Risotto:

1 large sweet onion, coarsly chopped
1 leek, white part only, coarsly chopped
1 cup Madeira wine
8 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
2 tablespoons butter
Olive oil

Heat the grill. Pour the chicken broth into a large saucepan and bring it to a simmer.

Mix the garlic, parsley, vinegar, and olive oil in a small bowl. When the grill is hot, put the chick thighs on it and baste the top side of them with the garlic/parsley/vinegar/oil mixture. When the chicken thighs have grill marks on the bottom side, turn them over, baste the other side and continue to cook. The instant they are done get them off the grill to cool. They are done when the juices run clear or the internal temp of the fattest piece is 165F.

While the chicken is cooling, heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and leek and saute until the onions are golden brown. Add 1/2 cup Madeira and continue to cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Add a ladleful of the simmering chicken broth to the onions and let them cook until the liquid has reduced and is pretty thick. Take the saucepan off the heat and set it aside.

Time for the rice. Put 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the rice, stirring frequently until the rice is shiny and well coated. Add the remaining 1/2 cup Madeira. Add a ladleful of chicken broth. Stir frequently. Each time the liquid is almost completely absorbed, add another ladleful of chicken broth. Stir frequently. Between stirrings, chop the chicken into bite-sized morsels.

Continue adding broth one ladleful at a time (and stirring). When the rice has started to soften, add the chicken. Continue adding broth one ladleful at a time (and stirring). When the rice is tender, remove it from the heat. Stir in the carmelized onions and butter, and serve.

Serves 4.