Italian Meat and Poultry Recipes - Chicken and Watercress Risotto Cakes Recipe

Ingredients

• 8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breasts

• 1/4 cup butter

• 1 onion, chopped

• 4 garlic cloves, crushed

• 1 cup risotto rice

• 2 1/2 cups hot Chicken or Vegetable Stock

• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

• 3 ounces watercress, tough stalks removed

• 1 egg, lightly beaten flour, for dusting

• 1/3 cup polenta or cornmeal

• vegetable oil, for shallow-frying

• salad, to serve

Serves 4

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Method:

1. Finely chop the chicken. Melt the butter in a large, heavy-based saucepan. Add the chicken and cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes, until cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

2. Add the onion to the pan and sauté gently for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and rice and stir well to coat the grains with the butter. Add the hot stock, a large ladleful at a time, stirring until each addition is absorbed into the rice.

3. Continue adding stock in this way, cooking until the rice is creamy but the grains are still firm. This should take about 20 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan.

4. Roughly chop the watercress and add to the pan, stirring until it has wilted. Add the cooked chicken and season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool.

5. Put the beaten egg on a plate. Put the polenta on another plate. Using lightly floured hands, shape the risotto mixture into 8 even-sized pieces. Flatten into cakes and coat first in the beaten egg, then in the polenta.

6. Heat a little vegetable oil in a large frying pan and fry the cakes for about 3 minutes on each side until golden. Drain on paper towels and serve with salad.