A really creamy, rich and delicious chicken and mushroom risotto. Season the chicken with a little salt and lots of pepper and add to the pan. Return the pan to the heat and add half the butter, the onion and mushrooms and fry for 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until the chicken mushroom recipe is softened and the mushrooms are lightly browned.
Add the garlic and bay leaf and cook for 1 minute, stirring. 30 seconds, stirring constantly, then pour in the wine and boil until reduced by half. Add a ladleful of the hot stock and stir well. Cook, stirring constantly, until the liquid has almost disappeared. Continue adding stock a ladleful at a time, stirring constantly and simmering until absorbed, for about 15 minutes, or until the rice is tender and creamy, with a slight bite. Return the chicken to the pan along with the final ladleful or two of stock and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes, or until hot throughout. The risotto should look quite sloppy at this point, but it will continue to absorb the stock.
Add a splash more just-boiled water if your risotto is looking dry. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the Parmesan and remaining butter. Cover with a lid and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Before serving, stir well, and scatter with the parsley, if using. Stirring constantly will help release the starch from the rice and make the risotto extra creamy, but if you need to get on with other things you can add all the stock at once and stir regularly, especially towards the end of the cooking time. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
Heat the butter in a large pan. Add the lardons and fry for 5 mins over a low-medium heat. Stir in the onion and fry for 10 mins more until the onion is soft but not coloured. Stir in the mushrooms and continue cooking, stirring, for 5 mins. Stir in the risotto rice and cook over a medium heat for 2 mins until the rice has started to turn translucent.
Pour in the wine and allow it to bubble away over the heat. Pour in a quarter of the chicken stock and set a timer for 20 mins. The texture now should be creamy, like rice pudding. Stir through the chicken, warm briefly, then turn off the heat.