Italian Sausage and Mushroom Risotto

 

The plague. That is what this flu is. One week later and I am still dragging, coughing, nose blowing, and wheezing. I made the comment that my face has seen more tissue this week than my rear. After a full week of not being able to do anything, including cook, I finally made it into my kitchen last night. I told my husband, who has just come down with the plague as well, not to get too excited. I only had so much energy. Turns out I was able to make a wonderful risotto for him. 

I personally think Risotto is an easy dish to make. I watch a lot of cooking competition shows and I am always baffled as to why chefs say risotto is tricky. I think it is simple as long as you follow two main rules. #1 only add hot liquid. #2 don't walk away from the pan. You need to stir almost constantly  and walking away for even a few minutes can end in tragedy. I read this years ago and because I have stuck to it, every single one of my risotto's have turned out great. 

This dish reheats wonderfully and is a stick to your ribs comfort food. Perfect for my sick boy. If you are going for a healthier option, use italian chicken sausage. Sprouts carries a great one. If not, regular italian sausage works fine. 

Italian Sausage and Mushroom Risotto
adapted from Daily Unadventures in cooking


1 teaspoon olive oil
1 lb italian sausage
1 cup roughly chopped baby bella mushrooms
1/2 onion diced
1 TBSP water
1 cup arborio rice
1/4 cup white wine
4 cups chicken stock
1 TBSP dijon Mustard
1 tablespoon cold butter
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmaggiano Reggiano
A handful flatleaf parsley, finely chopped

You need to heat the chicken stock. Either microwave it, or put the chicken stock in a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. You do this because you only add hot liquid to the risotto.

In a medium Dutch oven heat the olive oil to medium heat.

Remove the sausage from its casings and crumble into the pan. Add in Mushrooms. Stir occasionally until browned and cooked through. Cook until soft and browned, stirring regularly.

Reduce heat to medium low And add the onion along with a tablespoon of water to cool the pan. Sweat the onion until soft. Add the rice and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. 

Stir in the wine, and deglaze the pan, those brown bits are tasty. Add in a few ladles of stock. Enough so the rice is covered. Stir and adjust the temperature so it is just barely bubbling.

Continue cooking until stock is partially absorbed, now add more stock to cover and add in the mustard.

Continue stirring, and adding stock as needed until the rice is just al dente. Stir in butter, cheese and parsley. 

Serve.

Top with parsley for garnish.

You can now pre-order my cookbook in print at Barnes and Noble! 

Get it HERE.