A Restaurant-Style Chicken and Mushroom Risotto for Sunday Dinner
The Sunday roast feeling, without actually cooking a Sunday roast. This roast chicken and wild mushroom risotto combines crisp-skinned chicken thighs, creamy Parmesan risotto, deeply caramelised mushrooms, fresh lemon and a vibrant herb oil. It is comforting enough for Sunday dinner, but elegant enough for a Saturday night dinner party.
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There are Sundays when only a roast will do. And then there are Sundays in early August when the idea of roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, gravy and all the trimmings feels just a little too much.
This was one of those Sundays.
I still wanted the ritual of it: something slowly roasting in the oven, the smell of chicken filling the kitchen, a bottle of white wine open and dinner feeling like a proper event rather than another meal knocked together because everyone needs feeding. I just did not want a traditional Sunday roast.
So this is where we ended up: roast chicken and wild mushroom risotto with Parmesan, lemon and herb oil.
The chicken thighs are roasted separately, skin-side up, with a drizzle of olive oil and a generous seasoning of roasting salt. What comes out of the oven is exactly what you want: deeply golden, properly crisp skin with juicy meat underneath.
Underneath that sits a loose, glossy mushroom risotto enriched with butter and Parmesan. Some of the roast chicken is shredded through the rice, while a whole roasted thigh goes on top. Then comes the bit I absolutely would not skip: the herb oil.
That flash of green is not there just to make the plate look pretty. Parsley, basil, olive oil and lemon cut straight through the richness of the Parmesan, butter and roast chicken. Without it, you have a very good chicken and mushroom risotto. With it, you have something that feels as though it could have arrived at the table in a restaurant.
Why this chicken and mushroom risotto works
- Crispy chicken and creamy rice: roasting the thighs separately keeps the skin crisp while the risotto stays loose and glossy.
- Deep mushroom flavour: browning the mushrooms hard before adding them prevents them from becoming pale and watery.
- A proper risotto finish: butter and Parmesan are beaten in off the heat to create the silky final texture known as mantecatura.
- Freshness as well as richness: lemon and green herb oil stop the finished dish from feeling heavy.
A chicken and mushroom risotto worthy of Sunday dinner
Chicken and mushroom risotto is hardly a revolutionary combination, but there is a massive difference between throwing leftover chicken and mushrooms into rice and building a dish where every component earns its place.
The mushrooms need colour. Proper colour.
Cooking them hard before adding them to the risotto develops the deep, almost meaty flavour that makes chestnut and wild mushrooms so good. Do not crowd them into a cold pan and gently steam them into submission. Get the pan hot, give them room and let those edges caramelise.
The risotto itself needs patience rather than difficulty. Shallot and garlic are softened in butter, the rice is toasted, and dry white wine is added and reduced before hot chicken stock goes in gradually. You are looking for something flowing and glossy rather than a mound of rice capable of standing up by itself.
Finally, butter, Parmesan, lemon zest and juice are beaten through off the heat. This is not rice with a sauce. It should almost move across the plate.
Why roast the chicken separately?
Because crispy chicken skin and wet risotto are not natural friends.
Cooking skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs separately allows you to roast them until the skin becomes golden and crisp without worrying about what is happening to the rice. Two thighs are then stripped from the bone and the meat shredded through the risotto. The remaining thighs stay whole and become the centrepiece on top.
You therefore get roast chicken running through the entire dish rather than simply sitting on it. If any removed chicken skin needs a little longer to become properly crisp, give it more heat and use it as another garnish. There are very few situations in life improved by throwing crispy chicken skin away.
Roast Chicken and Wild Mushroom Risotto Recipe
- Serves 3 generously
- Preparation time: 20 minutes
- Cooking time: 45 minutes
- Total time: approximately 1 hour 5 minutes
- Best for: Sunday dinner, date night or an informal dinner party
Ingredients
- 5 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
- 300g risotto rice, such as Arborio or Carnaroli
- 250g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
- 100g oyster mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms or a mixture of wild mushrooms
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 150ml dry white wine
- 900ml–1 litre good chicken stock, kept hot
- 50g butter
- 70g Parmesan, finely grated, plus extra to serve
- 1 lemon
- 20g fresh parsley
- 10g fresh basil, optional
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- Cornish Sea Salt Company roasting salt, for the chicken
- Freshly ground black pepper
How to Make Roast Chicken and Wild Mushroom Risotto
- Roast the chicken. Heat the oven to 200°C fan. Pat the chicken thighs dry, then drizzle lightly with olive oil and season generously with roasting salt and black pepper. Arrange skin-side up and roast for 35–45 minutes, until the skin is deeply golden and the chicken is cooked through. The thickest part should reach at least 75°C. Rest for 10 minutes.
- Make the herb oil. While the chicken cooks, combine the parsley, optional basil, 4 tablespoons of olive oil, around 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Blend until vivid green.
- Brown the mushrooms. Get a frying pan properly hot. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil followed by the mushrooms and cook hard for 6–8 minutes, allowing them to become deeply golden rather than simply soft. Season and set aside.
- Prepare the roast chicken. Take two rested thighs, remove the crispy skin and strip the meat from the bones. Shred the chicken into generous pieces. Keep the other three thighs whole for serving.
- Start the risotto. Keep the chicken stock hot in a saucepan beside you. Melt 25g of the butter in a wide pan and gently cook the shallot for 5–6 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Tip in the rice and toast for 1–2 minutes, stirring so every grain is coated.
- Add the wine. Pour in the dry white wine and allow it to bubble and reduce. Incidentally, this is an excellent moment to pour yourself a glass from the remainder of the bottle. I am calling that efficient ingredient management.
- Cook the risotto. Add the hot stock a ladle at a time, stirring regularly and allowing most of the liquid to be absorbed before adding the next ladle. Continue for 18–22 minutes. The rice should be tender but retain a slight bite at its centre. Do not obsess over using exactly one litre of stock; the risotto tells you when it is ready, the measuring jug does not.
- Bring everything together. Fold the browned mushrooms and shredded roast chicken through the rice. Remove the pan from the heat and vigorously beat in the remaining 25g butter, Parmesan, finely grated lemon zest and about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Rest for 2 minutes, then add a splash of hot stock if necessary. The finished risotto should be loose, creamy and flowing rather than thick and stodgy.
- Plate it properly. Spoon the risotto into shallow bowls. Sit one whole crispy roast chicken thigh on each serving, add any extra crispy chicken skin and finish generously with the herb oil. Add a final grating of Parmesan, a little fresh lemon zest and black pepper, then get it to the table immediately.
Do Not Skip the Herb Oil
I know I have already said it, but this is probably the single biggest tip I would give anyone making this recipe.
The risotto is deliberately rich. Chicken stock, roast chicken, butter, Parmesan and deeply browned mushrooms all bring savoury, umami-heavy flavours. The lemon and herb oil provide the counterpoint: freshness, acidity and intense parsley flavour cutting through everything underneath.
Visually, it also transforms the plate. That vivid green against the golden risotto and crisp roast chicken immediately makes the dish look more considered. It takes minutes. Make it.
What Wine Goes with Chicken and Mushroom Risotto?
White wine is absolutely where I would go with this. You want enough acidity to cope with the butter and Parmesan, but enough body to stand alongside the roast chicken and earthy mushrooms.
A good Chardonnay would be my first choice, particularly something with restrained oak rather than a huge buttery style. Soave Classico, Verdicchio or a good Pinot Grigio from Alto Adige would also work brilliantly if you want something fresher.
There is another advantage to opening a decent dry white: the recipe only needs 150ml. You can work out what happens to the rest.
Chicken and Mushroom Risotto FAQs
Can you use leftover roast chicken in risotto?
Yes. Shred cooked roast chicken and fold it through during the final few minutes, giving it just enough time to heat through without drying out. You will lose the whole crisp-skinned thigh presentation, but it is an excellent way to turn Sunday leftovers into a completely different meal.
What mushrooms are best for chicken risotto?
Chestnut mushrooms make a reliable, flavourful base. Combining them with oyster, shiitake, porcini or another wild mushroom adds more texture and depth. Whatever you choose, cook the mushrooms in a hot, uncrowded pan before adding them to the rice.
Can chicken and mushroom risotto be reheated?
It can, but cooked rice needs careful handling. The Food Standards Agency advises cooling rice quickly, ideally within one hour, keeping it refrigerated for no more than 24 hours and reheating it only once until steaming hot throughout. Add a small splash of stock or water before reheating because the rice will thicken as it cools.
What can I use instead of wine in risotto?
Replace the 150ml wine with extra hot chicken stock and add a little more lemon juice at the end to restore the acidity. The flavour will be slightly different, but the risotto will still work.
How do you keep risotto creamy without using cream?
Risotto becomes creamy through the starch released by the rice, gradual additions of hot stock and the final beating-in of butter and Parmesan off the heat. No cream is needed.
Sunday Roast Comfort, Saturday Night Looks
That is probably what I like most about this recipe. Cook it on an August Sunday and it scratches that Sunday roast itch without feeling remotely like winter food. You still have golden roast chicken coming from the oven and a dinner that deserves everyone sitting around the table, but the lemon and fresh herbs pull everything back towards summer.
Equally, I would happily put exactly the same plate down in front of friends on a Saturday night. Do most of your preparation beforehand, open a bottle of wine, get the chicken roasting and finish the risotto while everyone is talking around the kitchen.
Then bring this to the table. It looks far more complicated than it actually is, which, when you are cooking for friends, is precisely the sort of recipe you want. For more ideas with the same proper-food spirit, explore the latest Yorkshire Pudd recipes.
