Sweet Corn and Asparagus Risotto with Panko Breaded Chicken

This is a perfect summertime dinner to share with friends or cook with someone special. It is easy to modify for your preferences and can be a vegetarian side if you sub vegetable broth. I hope you enjoy!

Grocery List for Chicken (Serves 2-4):      

-Chicken Breasts ….. 3 large breasts

-Flour …… 1 cup

-Panko Bread Crumbs …… 1-2 cups

-Eggs ….. 2

-Milk …… 3 tbsp

-Vegetable Oil …… if frying first 

Grocery list for Risotto (serves 8):

-Asparagus ….. 1 bunch

-Corn ….. 3-4 ears

-Lemon ….. 1 large

-White Onion …. 1 medium

-Rice ….. 4 cups

-Chicken Stock ….. 5-6 cups

-Butter …… 2 tbsp

-Parmesan ….. ½ cup grated, and more to garnish

-White Wine ….. 1 cup

-Olive Oil …… 3 tbsp

-Salt & Pepper to taste

A lot of people want a quick recipe to throw together for dinner. While I can totally appreciate the value of a quick dish you can fix up with whatever you have on hand, I also love the process of cooking something that takes time and planning. For me and my boyfriend, cooking is a really special connection and something we like to spend a lot of time doing. Planning menus, inviting friends and family over for dinner, and trying out how to make new meals brings us a lot of joy and we’ve been able to accumulate quite an arsenal of dishes over the last few years of cooking together.

Knowing how to make a good risotto base can help you dress up any meal. Once you have the basics down you can add different vegetables, seasoning, or stocks to make it a whole new dish. Pumpkin risotto in the fall, mushroom risotto in the winter, summer squash and asparagus for summer, the possibilities are endless. The base of this recipe is perfect to modify depending on your preferences. We usually do this with asparagus but since sweet corn is in season it makes the perfect addition for flavor and added texture.

This dish takes time and planning, as you can’t rush a good risotto, but the end result is so worth it. This dish has a bit of prep work involved which is where I like to step in while Michael does the heavy lifting (in this case stirring). Also, you can switch things up with a different protein, like a white flakey fish, and you can bake the chicken instead of frying the crust for a healthier version. This dish is easy to make in a large batch for a party, or to scale it back for just a couple people. We like to make a big batch of risotto and have it for the next couple of days. This amount will make about 8 servings.

Things to keep in mind when cooking with wine and cheese…choose a wine that you would also drink. It doesn’t have to be as nice since it is being cooked and mixing with flavors but you don’t want something gross that you wouldn’t drink. For cheese, I recommend grating your own parmesan for a couple reasons. First, you know it is good quality and there aren’t any fillers. Secondly, you only need to grate what you’ll use so it lasts a lot longer and tastes much fresher. It’s easy to store a block of cheese wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.

For prep:

1. Dice onion
2. Chop asparagus
3. Shuck corn and cut it off the cob
4. Grate parmesan

For the risotto:

1. Heat up chicken stock in a saucepan, you need this to be warm when you begin adding liquid to the rice.
2. Toast the rice in a warm pan for a couple minutes with olive oil.
3. Add diced onions and stir through until they begin to soften.
4. Pour in the wine and cook until some of it burns off and it reduces for a couple minutes.
5. Once the rice, onion, and wine is combined, slowly add warm chicken stock.
6. Only add small amounts, less than a cup at a time and mix the entire time until it is thoroughly combined
7. Continue adding the stock until it is all combined and cooked together.
8. Taste to check if the rice is getting soft enough, if not add more broth and continue cooking.
9. Once the rice is almost finished, add in the chopped asparagus and corn with a spoonful of butter. The thicker the asparagus, the longer it will need to cook so you can add it sooner.
10. Continue stirring and the vegetables will cook with the heat of the risotto.
11. The dish will be creamy because of all the starch released from the rice while stirring the entire time.
12. When the rice is done add parmesan cheese and stir it in, add as much as you like for added flavor and creaminess.
13. Finish with salt and pepper and serve as a side dish with a small wedge of lemon.

For the chicken:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit
2. Set aside three bowls for the breading process.
3. Fill one with flour, one with egg mixture and one with panko crumbs.
4. Wisk two eggs with a splash of milk and salt and pepper.
5. Pat chicken with a paper towel before the breading process.
6. Coat chicken in flour and shake off excess.
7. Dip the flour-coated chicken into the egg mix and allow the remnants to drip off.
8. Place the chicken into panko making sure it gets completely coated.
9. Repeat for all the chicken pieces.
10. Heat oil in a frying pan, drop breadcrumbs in to see if it is hot enough. If they sizzle and float you’re good to go.
11. Put the chicken in the oil and cook until it’s golden brown.
12. Flip and cook until the coating is crispy.
13. Place chicken on baking sheet to finish cooking in the oven, about 10-15 minutes depending on how thick the chicken is.

When you plate it up make sure to serve it wish some fresh lemon wedges and extra cheese. The lemon brings out the veggies in the risotto and adds really bright flavor to the chicken.

Photos: Eden Frost