Chicken, Butternut, Sage and Blue Cheese Risotto

Meanwhile, halve, peel and chop the onion into small pieces. Peel and grate the garlic (or use a garlic press).

Pick the whole sage leaves off their stalks (discard the stalks).

Pour the boiled water for the stock (see pantry for amount) into a large measuring jug. Stir in the veg stock paste - this is your stock.

If you prefer oven-baking your risotto, use an ovenproof pan in the next step and 2p: 600ml, 3p: 900ml, 4p: 1200ml of boiled water.

Heat a drizzle of oil in a large frying pan on medium-high heat.

Once hot, add the sage leaves in a single layer. Fry until crispy, 1-2 mins. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper.

Pop your pan back on medium heat and add the onion and a drizzle of oil. Season with salt and pepper and fry, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4-5 mins. 

Add the garlic to the onion, stir together and cook for 1 min more.

Add the diced chicken and risotto rice to the pan with the onion and garlic. Stir and cook until the edges of the rice are translucent, 1-2 mins. TIP: Notice a stronger smell from your chicken? Don’t worry, this is normal due to packaging we use to keep it fresh.

Pour in a third of the stock and stir to combine. Bring to the boil and simmer until absorbed, then repeat with the remaining stock, a third at a time. Stir occasionally.

The total cooking time should take 20-25 mins and your risotto is done when the rice is ‘al dente’ - cooked through but with a tiny bit of firmness left in the middle. IMPORTANT: Wash hands and utensils after handling raw meat. Cook so there's no pink in the middle.

For oven-baking, pour in all the water at once and cover with a lid or foil. Bake until the water has been absorbed, 25-30 mins.

Once the butternut is cooked, put a third of it in a blender (you'll put the remaining chunks on top of the risotto). Add the water for the butternut (see pantry for amount) to the blender.

Blend until smooth. TIP: If you don't have a blender don't worry, the risotto will still be just as delicious with the butternut just stirred through.

When the risotto is cooked, stir through the blended butternut, hard Italian style cheese and butter (see pantry for amount). Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed. TIP: Add a splash of water to loosen the risotto to your desired consistency.