Lemon chicken & pea risotto

Caroline Marson: Food writer

Other vegetables like courgette, green beans or broccoli would also work well. You can use long grain rice if you don't have risotto rice, but the consistency will be less creamy.

Ingredients: serves 4 - 6

1 lemon
480 g chicken (leftover cooked)
1 garlic clove (peeled and crushed)
1 tbsp olive oil
220 g risotto rice (or long grain rice)
600 ml chicken stock
240 g frozen peas
125 g babycorn (sliced into circles)
Any fresh herbs
butter
freshly ground pepper

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F / Gas Mark 6. Wash the lemon, finely grate the zest, then juice. Place the chicken strips in a deep tin. Pour the lemon juice and grated zest over and cook in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the garlic and olive oil together in a large wide saucepan, add the rice, and stir to coat the grains with the oil. Heat the chicken stock and keep it simmering on the top of the stove, next to the risotto pan.
Gradually add the stock to the rice, stirring, allowing each lot to be absorbed before adding the next. Add the frozen peas and babycorn slices when you've used up about half of the stock. When all the stock has been used up, add the chicken strips and stir thoroughly until piping hot. Add the herbs and a knob of butter, serve straight away.

Recipe tips:

It's best to serve rice when it has just been cooked. If that isn't possible, cool the rice as quickly as possible (ideally within one hour) and keep it in the fridge for no more than one day until reheating. Never leave cooked rice to cool on its own - always chill it quickly for example under running cold water. If cooked rice had been chilled or frozen ensure that it is thoroughly reheated and is piping hot throughout. Never keep rice chilled for longer than 1 day or frozen for longer than 1 month. Once cooked rice has been re-heated, throw away any leftovers. Never re-heat rice more than once.