I am currently on a health kick and as I have a sweet tooth and always like to eat sweets, I have tried to replace sweets with a more healthy snack such as nuts. I have recently tried macadamia nuts and I like them so much that I have found some recipes that include macadamia nuts.
Macadamia and Chicken Risotto
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 onion, peeled and sliced
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons macadamia oil
- 1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced
- 180g risotto rice
- 600ml warm chicken stock (fresh is best) see below for making your own
- 200g cooked chicken (breast and thigh meat) shredded
- 200g seasonal mixed vegetables, we used broccoli, green beans and sugar snap peas, blanched in boiling water for a few minutes, drained and cooled in cold running water
- 100g macadamia nuts, roughly chopped, toasted if you like
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Fresh parsley, sprigs or finely chopped
Preparation / Cooking Instructions
- Cook the onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon of the oil, in a large frying pan, for a couple of minutes.
- Add the pepper and cook for another few minutes until the onion has softened.
- Stir in the rice, coating it well in the oil, then pour in about a third of the stock.
- Cook over a medium heat, stirring every so often until the stock is almost absorbed, then pour in more stock.
- Keep adding stock and cook, stirring until the rice is just tender. This will take around 20 minutes.
- Stir in the chicken and heat it through, then add the vegetables and macadamia nuts.
- Season to taste.
- Serve hot, garnished with parsley and a drizzle of macadamia oil.
To make Chicken Stock: put all the bones from a chicken carcass in a large saucepan, add an unpeeled onion, 1 carrot and 1 small leek, all roughly chopped, with a little salt and a few whole pepper corns, a handful of parsley and a couple of bay leaves. Cover with cold water. Bring to the boil slowly, simmer for 2 hours. Strain and pour into pots and store in the fridge or freezer.
Click on the link for more information about facts and nutritional value of macadamia nuts.
A range of healthy eating recipes, in depth information and research about the health benefits of Macadamia nuts is available from the Macadamia Advice Centre.