Get a little taste of French and Italian classic cuisine in this Truffle Butter Risotto Recipe with Roast Chicken and Herbs!
In the food world I’ve always lived under the umbrella statement, “simplicity is elegant,” and that applies precisely to this recipe. It’s nothing overly fancy… It’s no molecular gastronomy, It’s not going to be on a 3-Michelin Star restaurant’s menu, but it is comforting, it’s beyond delicious and it could not be any more of a traditional meal. This dish combines the old school beauty of Italy and France into 1 dish.
If you’ve never really gone back and made classic Italian or French recipes I highly recommend doing so. If you aren’t of where to start, then honestly check out 1 of Julia Child’s cook books for all things French and check out the Classic Italian Cookbook by Marcella Hazan for all things Italian. Before you start getting all creative in your kitchen it’s importance to understand the basics of fundamental cookery, especially as it relates to French and Italian food. If you want a ton of background knowledge on all things food and cooking techniques then look no further than the father of modern day cookery, Auguste Escoffier,
Nowadays menus are filled with foams, mini portions, exotic raw vegetables and everything else in between. Let me start by saying that there is absolutely nothing wrong with any of those things, in fact I suggest going and do often go to restaurants like that, after all it is an experience to enjoy. However, I like to eat and I want large portions. I would highly recommend staying away from these “experience” type restaurants if you’re absolutely starving because chances are you still may leave hungry and without a lot of money. Again, love those types of restaurants and love reading about them hearing about them, but for all intents and purposes I wanna talk about eating some good old fashioned goodness, like in this dish.
The first part of this recipe is the roast chicken and herbs. I started by breaking down a whole chicken and then Frenching the breasts. For far too long I’ve been lazy as heck and have bought the chicken already broken down by thighs, breasts, etc. It is so stinking easy to do it yourself and if you enjoy meat fabrication of any kind, it’s really fun.
I used to absolutely love the meat fabrication aspect of culinary techniques so any chance I get to do it I usually jump at it… Of course unless I buy chicken. GUILTY!! Regardless I broke down the chicken and Frenched the breast which means I left the bone in it and then cut it down to make it look nicer. From there I seasoned and roasted it up in a pan in some olive oil and then added in some fresh thyme, whole garlic cloves and a whole gang of unsalted butter.
After I flipped the chicken over for the first time I basted all of the chicken parts with the butter, oil, herbs and garlic for another 4 to 6 minutes to make sure they were flavorful and moist. Now to get a ton more flavor in this chicken, I covered it in foil and placed it in the oven on 300° for 2 ½ hours almost confiting the chicken. It is so crispy on the outside and so ridiculously flavorful and moist on the inside. Always let your protein rest before serving and again, is this roast chicken and herbs good!
Next up is the risotto. Always use a huge pot and a wooden spoon or else it won’t turn out correctly ;-). Oh yeah, and always stir the same way while cooking it. Risotto is one of those things that is just so comforting to eat and gosh dang it is it so good. It can be loaded up with lobster or have nothing but parmesan cheese it, and every time it is so ridiculously good!
To go a bit further with my risotto recipe I added in some peas and mushrooms as well as making an insanely delicious truffle butter. Truffle butter, while I agree a bit played out, is seriously one of the most insanely delicious things on the planet earth. It is so flippin ridiculous I can barely stand it! It represents the finer things and life and I’m not even kidding when I say it can be put on anything. In a pasta, over a steak, spread on a loaf of bread, finished over a steak, seriously use the butter like it’s going out of style!
That’s all I got folks, thanks for coming along and listening to me ramble about cooking nonsense…
Truffle Butter Risotto Recipe with Roast Chicken and Herbs
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 1 whole broken down chicken with Frenched breasts
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 10 whole garlic cloves
- 10 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 4 ounces of unsalted butter
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Truffle Butter:
- 1 pound of softened unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons of black truffle peelings
- 2 ounces of white truffle oil
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Risotto:
- 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
- ½ small diced peeled yellow onion
- 3 finely minced cloves of garlic
- 1 pound of Arborio rice
- 1 cup of dry white wine
- 64 to 96 ounces of good chicken stock
- ¾ cup of shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 cup of whipped heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup of peas
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 2 cups of quartered cremini mushrooms
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°.
- Season the chicken on all sides with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Next, heat the olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and add in the chicken skin side down and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown.
- Flip the chicken over, turn the heat down to medium, and add in the garlic, thyme and butter and baste all of the chicken parts constantly with the butter for 4 to 6 minutes.
- Cover the chicken with foil or a lid and place in the oven at 300° for 2 ½ to 3 hours or until browned, crispy on the outside and tender juicy in the middle. Rest for 3 to 4 minutes on a plate or cutting board before serving.
- Truffle Butter: Whip the butter in a standing mixer on high speed with the paddle attachment until it becomes light and fluffy.
- Next, add in the truffle peelings, truffle oil, salt and pepper and combine on low speed for 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a plastic container and chill in the refrigerator.
- Risotto: Melt the butter over medium heat in a large pot and add in the onions and garlic and caramelize, about 20 minutes.
- Next, add in the rice and toast for 2 to 3 minutes before deglazing with white wine.
- Stir the rice constantly until the rice has absorbed the wine and add in 8 ounces of chicken stock at a time while continuing to stir until the liquid is absorbed. Repeat the process until the risotto is al dente or slightly crunchy.
- Fold in the Parmesan cheese, whipping cream and peas until combined. Keep warm.
- In a saute pan with olive oil over high heat add in the mushrooms and cook until browned, about 6 to 8 minutes and then fold them into the risotto. Finish the risotto by seasoning with salt and pepper and adding in a few tablespoons of the truffle butter. Feel free to use as little or as much as you’d like.
- Serve the chicken alongside the truffle butter risotto.
Nutrition
Sophie says
What if you don’t have Truffle or Truffle oil for the risotto?
Chef Billy Parisi says
I would just sub with regular mushrooms since truffle oil is so distinct in flavor.
Trudi says
I made this last night for dinner with a few minor changes, I used chicken breasts but pan fried and then finished in the oven, I also omitted the truffle butter but drizzled truffle oil over the finish risotto. WOW this meal was amazing, everyone was blown away by the flavours. I can’t wait to cook this again
Chef Billy Parisi says
Trudi! So awesome this worked out for you 🙂