Its rainy and cooler now. All my favorite fall comfort foods and soups are beginning to grace our table. This risotto has been on our cooler weather menus for a couple years now and I keep neglecting to share it with you here. If any of you watch competition cooking shows, you know that a bad risotto is often the death of a contestant. Having never made it, I got to wondering why it was so hard to make correctly. Well, its not really. Its quite easy. It just takes a little love and time standing by the stove. You can't rush it. This risotto recipe is a great introduction to how to make the dish that doubles as a one-pot meal. Because of the sausage, its not just a side dish, but rather can be the star of your meal. It just needs some bread or salad on the side. So, 30-40 minutes at the stove for the main part of your meal isn't really that much time. Please check out the notes and tips at the bottom of the post for ideas and substitutions and variations--this is actually a REALLY China-friendly meal! Our family hopes you enjoy this as much as we all do!
Italian Sausage Risotto
5-6 cups chicken broth
250g (1/2 lb) bulk Italian sausage
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
1/8-1/4 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice*
3/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt, to taste, if needed
Begin by placing 5-6 cups of chicken broth in a small saucepan and heat. Leave it on a simmer as you begin the rice--it needs to remain hot throughout the process.
In a large, deep skillet cook the sausage. Drain excess grease and add the garlic, onion, and bell pepper (if your sausage isn't very greasy you can add a tablespoon of butter at this point--I usually don't need to). Sprinkle with black pepper.
Add the rice and stir to coat. Immediately add the white wine--it will very quickly cook off. Make sure you are cooking on a medium low heat from now on. (I usually turn my gas burner as low as it can go and still have the outer ring of flame on).
Begin by adding 1/2 cup of the warm chicken broth at a time after the wine. Stirring to coat and then leaving to simmer for a minute. Don't leave the rice! Stir regularly. You will add 1/2 cup of the broth at a time as the rice absorbs it.
As you add the broth it will look like this, but then it will cook in and absorb. When you can stir the rice and it doesn't move to cover the bottom of the pan again, then you need to add another 1/2-3/4 cup of the broth. The longer you go, the more time it takes to be ready to add another amount of broth.
As you near the end the rice will look more like this--fuller and more broth-y. This process should take about 30 minutes--sometimes up to 35 for me. As you near the end of that time and the rice looks more done, you can taste test to check. You don't want it to be crunchy or have a hard center. If the rice is not done but your chicken broth is gone, you can just add hot water until it is done. Also test if it needs extra salt. When the rice is done, you want it to still have a bit of brothiness to it--don't cook it dry--add water if necessary. The liquid continues to absorb at the table. Stir in the parmesan cheese and remove from heat. Sprinkle with a little parsley to serve if you want! Enjoy! Yields 4-5 servings.
Notes:
* I do not use Arborio rice in China. I just find a short grain rice that looks similar.
*You can substitute chicken broth for the wine if you want and its still good. Of course the wine adds a great depth of flavor that would be missing if you left it out.
*This dish tastes good with or without the parmesan, but obviously the parmesan makes it better and more like a traditional risotto. But if you don't have it, you might still like the dish. I recommend using real block parmesan that you grate yourself, not the bottled kind. I buy mine on Taobao for you other China residents. Search 巴马臣芝士 or just "parmesan." It runs 35-40 for 500g.
*I usually use the China Swanson chicken broth in a box or the little packets of gooey stuff that you mix by the cup. I used to think they didn't have MSG, but I have recently learned they do. You can make your own chicken broth as well. I have found China chicken broth to be less salty than in the US. So in the US when I make this I don't need extra salt in it. Sometimes here in China I feel it benefits from an extra 1/4-1/2 tsp stirred in at the end, but just do to your taste.
*In the US when I make this, I have to buy fresh Italian sausage already stuffed in casing. Just remove the casing and cook like bulk sausage if needed. In China I make my own Italian sausage in bulk so its not a problem.
* This recipe is adapted from Brown Eyed Baker. She uses 4 oz diced mushroom if you like that kind of thing.
Italian Sausage Risotto
5-6 cups chicken broth
250g (1/2 lb) bulk Italian sausage
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
1/8-1/4 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice*
3/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt, to taste, if needed
Begin by placing 5-6 cups of chicken broth in a small saucepan and heat. Leave it on a simmer as you begin the rice--it needs to remain hot throughout the process.
In a large, deep skillet cook the sausage. Drain excess grease and add the garlic, onion, and bell pepper (if your sausage isn't very greasy you can add a tablespoon of butter at this point--I usually don't need to). Sprinkle with black pepper.
Add the rice and stir to coat. Immediately add the white wine--it will very quickly cook off. Make sure you are cooking on a medium low heat from now on. (I usually turn my gas burner as low as it can go and still have the outer ring of flame on).
Begin by adding 1/2 cup of the warm chicken broth at a time after the wine. Stirring to coat and then leaving to simmer for a minute. Don't leave the rice! Stir regularly. You will add 1/2 cup of the broth at a time as the rice absorbs it.
As you add the broth it will look like this, but then it will cook in and absorb. When you can stir the rice and it doesn't move to cover the bottom of the pan again, then you need to add another 1/2-3/4 cup of the broth. The longer you go, the more time it takes to be ready to add another amount of broth.
As you near the end the rice will look more like this--fuller and more broth-y. This process should take about 30 minutes--sometimes up to 35 for me. As you near the end of that time and the rice looks more done, you can taste test to check. You don't want it to be crunchy or have a hard center. If the rice is not done but your chicken broth is gone, you can just add hot water until it is done. Also test if it needs extra salt. When the rice is done, you want it to still have a bit of brothiness to it--don't cook it dry--add water if necessary. The liquid continues to absorb at the table. Stir in the parmesan cheese and remove from heat. Sprinkle with a little parsley to serve if you want! Enjoy! Yields 4-5 servings.
Notes:
* I do not use Arborio rice in China. I just find a short grain rice that looks similar.
*You can substitute chicken broth for the wine if you want and its still good. Of course the wine adds a great depth of flavor that would be missing if you left it out.
*This dish tastes good with or without the parmesan, but obviously the parmesan makes it better and more like a traditional risotto. But if you don't have it, you might still like the dish. I recommend using real block parmesan that you grate yourself, not the bottled kind. I buy mine on Taobao for you other China residents. Search 巴马臣芝士 or just "parmesan." It runs 35-40 for 500g.
*I usually use the China Swanson chicken broth in a box or the little packets of gooey stuff that you mix by the cup. I used to think they didn't have MSG, but I have recently learned they do. You can make your own chicken broth as well. I have found China chicken broth to be less salty than in the US. So in the US when I make this I don't need extra salt in it. Sometimes here in China I feel it benefits from an extra 1/4-1/2 tsp stirred in at the end, but just do to your taste.
*In the US when I make this, I have to buy fresh Italian sausage already stuffed in casing. Just remove the casing and cook like bulk sausage if needed. In China I make my own Italian sausage in bulk so its not a problem.
* This recipe is adapted from Brown Eyed Baker. She uses 4 oz diced mushroom if you like that kind of thing.
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