RISOTTO WITH SAUSAGES

      When making a risotto with meat, the question of what kind of broth to use, and the quality of the broth becomes even more important than for other risotti.

Cooking technique can always be learnt (part of this site’s “mission”...) but what ends up distinguishing a good cook from an excellent one is instinct, nurtured by experience and common sense.



So before embarking on this recipe taste your stock and decide whether it will marry well with the flavour of the sausages – remember you can always intensify the flavour of the broth by further boiling or dilute it with more water!

INGREDIENTS

2 Tablespoons of best quality Olive oil

3 Italian sausages

1 large red onion

2 glasses of dry white wine

300 grams of Carnaroli rice

1 bottle (750 ml) plus of broth

fine sea salt, to tastefreshly ground BLACK pepper, to taste

freshly grated Parmesan (2 – 3 Tablespoons)

INSTRUCTIONS

Remove the skin of the sausages and mash using a fork. Place in a non-stick pan over a low to medium heat and gently cook until the sausages have released most of their fat. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with clean kitchen paper to absorb the remaining fat.

Meanwhile peel and finely slice the red onion with a sharp knife. Heat a large, heavy based, non-stick pan over a low to medium fire, add the oil and slowly cook the onion until is translucent, stirring from time to time. Remove any excess oil.

When the onions are translucent add the part cooked sausages to the pan, stir and gently brown.

Measure out the rice, add to the pan, and let it “toast” whilst gently stirring. Add the white wine and simmer (uncovered) until the wine is almost all absorbed, stirring all the time.

Uncork the bottle of stock pour into a saucepan, lightly season it and bring to a gentle boil. Add a ladle or so to the risotto mixture, stir, reduce to a gentle simmer and level the rice mixture. Wait until the liquid is absorbed before adding more stock, each time stirring carefully and levelling the rice.

Keep an eye on the cooking process and near the end a very watchful eye! Taste for seasoning and to check the stage of cooking; increasingly there should be very little 'bite' left in a rice grain.

When there is only a little 'bite' left in a rice grain stir carefully on a continuous basis. When the spoon begins to leave a clear wake behind it as it is drawn through the risotto this is the sign the rice is ALMOST cooked. The rice is expanding and it should be developing a level of 'creaminess' with each full stir. Taste again for seasoning and texture; there should now be very little 'bite' left in a grain. The risotto is cooked when the texture is velvety but each grain is still firm to the bite AT THE CENTRE, and all the liquid is absorbed.

Take the risotto off the heat, add the Parmesan, stir and cover the pan for 2 – 3 minutes. Turn out into a cold serving dish (to arrest the cooking process) and serve immediately.

Diners should eat risotto with a fork from a soup plate.

COMMENTS

    Prefer carnaroli to arborio rice. Similarly use fine slices of red onion rather than onion finely chopped using a mezzaluna: the slices of onion merge with the minced sausages in a more pleasing manner.

    Italian pork sausages are often sold in supermarkets and delicatessens under their generic name. Alternatively when in Italy go to a butcher, buy sausages in lengths of three or four and ask that they be vacuum packed. In either situation checkthe sausages do not contain fennel seeds or flakes of chilli.

    As for all risottos the key to success is to find the level of heat which is right for the size of pan used, to gently stir all the pan to ensure the entire dish is evenly cooked and near the end of the cooking process to taste and taste again.