One-Pan Caprese Chicken and Risotto
I love risotto, but I’m also impatient. Sometimes I want a quick no-fuss risotto that still turns out creamy and tender and bursting with flavor without standing at the stove forever. This take on risotto may make traditionalists balk, but to me it comes very close to that famed Italian dish. Everything starts on the stove but then the majority of the time the risotto and the chicken cook in the oven. The result is tender thighs with crispy skin sitting atop a bed of succulent flavorful risotto. I’ve infused my favorite taste of summer— the caprese salad— into this dish. Cherry tomatoes and burrata (instead of the traditional mozzarella) which oozes into the rice and creates a rich creamy bite, and of course the final flourish of fresh basil.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 pint cherry tomatoes, divided
1 cup arborio rice
1 cup grated pecorino
½ cup dry white wine
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 8 oz ball of burrata
Basil leaves, for garnish
Kosher salt and black pepper
METHOD
Preheat oven to 350F.
Pat chicken dry with paper towel and salt and pepper both sides. Over medium-high heat, add olive oil to a 12” cast iron skillet or other oven proof pan. Brown chicken thighs, on both sides, starting with skin side down— 2-3 mins each side, remove and set aside.
Lower heat to medium and add onion, garlic, tomato paste and half the cherry tomatoes to pan and season with salt and pepper and sauté until cherry tomatoes have slightly burst, 2-3 minutes. Add rice and stir to combine until coated, 1-2 minutes. Add wine and reduce— approximately 1-2 mins, then add stock and pecorino and stir to combine. Add back chicken to the pan, skin side up, along with remaining cherry tomatoes.
Cover with tin foil and place in oven for 35 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook for 7-10 minutes. Remove from oven, let chicken rest 5 mins, then add bite-sized pieces of burrata, followed by a glug of good olive oil, flaky sea salt, and basil leaves and serve from the pan.
