Risotto with Mushrooms and Kale

I have forgotten about kale this winter until a friend mentioned to me that she had her vegetable juice with kale in it. I like kale – it’s flavourful and does not have a weird after taste like Spinach.  It seems to hold itself well when cooked – not a wimpy vegetable, I’d say. So when I cooked this risotto the other night – I have added some chopped kale to the dish and the result was a tasty one.

For 2, you’ll need
¾ cup Arborio rice (I used Jasmine rice)
1 litre chicken stock
½ onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
6-8 mushrooms, sliced
4-5 big leaves curly kale, chopped
1 chicken breast, cooked and chopped
4 rashers bacon, chopped
2b tablespoons butter
Oil for frying
¼ cup dry white wine
2-3 tablespoons grated parmesan
Freshly ground black pepper

In a pan, fry bacon pieces on medium high heat until crispy, drain on kitchen paper towel and set aside. (If you wish to cook the chicken by frying, cut the breast into three or four small piece, season with salt a pepper and fry the pieces in the same pan, using the oil rendered from the bacon). In the same pan, fry the chopped kale until wilted – set aside. Next, fry sliced mushrooms until golden then set aside.

Heat up the stock and let it simmer. Add butter to the pan with a little bit of oil and fry onion and garlic until fragrant. Add rice and stir well so that the grains are well covered with oil – pour in the wine. Wait until the liquid is absorbed then reduce the heat, and add a ladle of stock at a time to the rice. Stir regularly. This process will take about 25-30 minutes for rice to be cooked. I don’t like my rice al dente so I cook mine a little bit longer – but add enough liquid so that it does not get too dry. Add chopped chicken, kale and mushroom, stir well and cook until heated through. Remove from heat, add the parmesan, stir and divide into the plates. Add a round of freshly milled black pepper and topped with crispy bacon. Enjoy!