Make sausage risotto, a meaty version of the versatile
Italian dish, if you're looking for a new hearty main course. It's creamy and
flavorful, making it ideal for a classic weeknight meal or dinner party.
What Is Sausage Risotto?
Risotto is traditionally made with Arborio rice, a rounded,
short-grain white rice with a high starch content, but you can substitute
carnaroli rice, oats, or barley.
The key to risotto is the cooking method: sauté the starch
before adding ladles of chicken broth on low heat. This allows the rice to
gradually release its starches, resulting in a perfectly al dente result in a
creamy sauce. Risotto can be made with almost any protein or vegetables. Make
sausage risotto by incorporating cooked Italian sausage into the cooked rice.
You can use either hot or sweet Italian sausage, depending on your taste.
Ingredients
1 pound Italian sausage
5 cups chicken stock
½ tablespoon unsalted butter or olive oil
⅓ cup finely chopped shallots
½ teaspoon minced garlic (about 1 garlic clove)
1 cup Arborio rice
½ cup dry white wine, room temperature
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, divided
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Chopped parsley (for garnish)
Half a lemon (optional)
1. Heat a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat.
Using a small, sharp knife, cut open the sausage casing. Add the sausage meat
to the pan, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Cook until the meat turns
golden brown, 8–10 minutes. Remove the sausage from the pan and set it aside.
Reserve the sausage fat.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring broth to a
low boil, then reduce heat to low, keeping the broth just below a simmer. You
want the broth to be about the same temperature as the rice while it’s cooking.
3. In the same sauté pan you used to cook the sausage, heat
the butter and the reserved sausage fat over medium-low, then add the shallots.
Sauté the shallots until softened and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the
garlic and stir continuously until fragrant, about 30–60 seconds. Add rice to
the shallot-garlic mixture, season with salt, and stir to combine. Continue
stirring until the rice is well coated and starting to become translucent, 2–5
minutes.
4. Add about ½ cup warm broth and a splash of wine to the
rice mixture. Stir often until the rice has fully absorbed the liquid. Add the
remaining broth in ½-cup increments, following each addition with a splash of
wine and allowing the rice to absorb liquid between additions, until the rice
is al dente, about 25–35 minutes. (You may not need all of the liquid.)
5. Remove the pan from the stove and add ½ cup cheese,
sausage, and pepper, stirring to combine. Cover and allow to rest 5 minutes.
Garnish with parsley and a spritz with lemon, if using. Serve with additional
cheese.
