Ingredients
- 1 lb sweet italian sausage, casings removed and meat crumbled
- 4 to 5 cups unsalted chicken broth, preferably homemade
- 2 tbsps olive oil
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- 1 cup uncooked italian medium-grain white rice
- 1/2 cup peeled, seeded and chopped fresh plum tomatoes, drained
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
- 2 tbsps unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup freshly grated parmigian cheese or more to taste
- salt to taste
- ground pepper to taste
- 2 tbsps packed, torn, fresh basil leaves
Directions
- Brown the sausage in a heavy skillet, stirring and breaking up into small pieces.
- Spoon out one tbsp of the sausage fat and set aside.
- Drain and discard the remaining fat and set aside the browned sausage.
- Heat the chicken broth in a small saucepan until boiling.
- Adjust the heat to maintain a steady simmer.
- Combine the reserved sausage fat and olive oil in a heavy saucepan and heat over low heat.
- Add the onion and saute until golden, about 8 minutes.
- Add the garlic and saute 1 minute more.
- Stir in the rice and saute over low heat, stirring, about 2 mminutes.
- Add enough of the hot broth, about 1/2 cup, to just cover the rice.
- Adjust the heat to maintain a steady simmer and cook the rice, stirring constantly, until almost all of the broth has been absorbed, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add another ladle of broth.
- Cook, stirring constantly, until all the broth has been absorbed.
- Continue adding the broth, one ladle at a time, cooking and stirring.
- Add the next ladleful when the broth is absorbed and the rice begins to pull away from the sides of the pot as it is stirred.
- Add the tomatoes, chopped basil and half of the reserved cooked sausage during the last ten minutes of cooking.
- Cook until the rice is creamy and firm, but not chalky in the centre when it is tasted.
- The total cooking time is 30 minutes or more.
- Remove from the heat.
- Stir in the butter, cheese and salt.
- Briefly reheat the reserved browned sausage.
- Spoon the risotto into shallow bowls and divide the warmed sausage evenly among the bowls.
- Sprinkle with the ground pepper and basil leaves.
- Serve with additional grated cheese.
