Sunday, November 29, 2009

Sausage Risotto with Spring Greens

I got this recipe from Bon Appetit magazine. My attention was caught when it mentioned swiss chard, which I've dabbled with before. I'd never made risotto and was a smidge scared to try it. All I can think of is Top Chef when they're all "omg it's SO hard to make a perfect risotto". I might be making that up. But it sounds about right. This recipe looked doable, though, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch dandelion greens, Swiss chard, or mustard greens (12 ounces), tough bottom stems removed, leaves cut into 3/4-inch pieces (I didn't see any of those other greens at the farmer's market, so I stuck with the chard)
  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, divided
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 6 ounces mild Italian sausage (about 1 1/2 links), casings removed
  • 2 cups arborio rice (13 to 14 ounces)
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 5 cups low-salt chicken broth
  • 3/4 cup (packed) freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving

Preparation

  • Cook greens in boiling salted water just until wilted, about 1 minute. Drain; cool.
  • Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large saucepan over medium heat; add onion and garlic. Sauté until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add sausage; sauté until brown, breaking up with spoon, about 3 minutes. Add rice; stir 1 minute. Add wine; reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until wine is almost absorbed. Add 1 cup broth. Stir until broth is almost absorbed. Add remaining 4 cups broth by 1/2 cupfuls, allowing broth to be absorbed before adding more. Mix in greens after 10 minutes. Cook until rice is tender and mixture is creamy, 25 minutes total. Mix in cheese and remaining 3 tablespoons butter. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Serve risotto, passing additional cheese.
Couple things:
1-I would swear on my LIFE that I had parm in my fridge. I didn't. Just smelling this dish cooking, I knew it would be effing fantastic with the cheese. Damn it. I think I left it at a friends house...? boo.
2-My risotto came out a tad undercooked, but not too much. Totally delish and creamy!
3-I halved the recipe, but kept the full amount of greens. Can't have too many veggies.
4-Definitely use the low sodium broth. It's super salty and I have no idea why. Maybe from the sausage?
5-SUCCESS!! Super good! And totally easy!
6-Don't have my camera cord, so pics to come.

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