Risotto is a staple at our house. Similar to having pasta, we eat risotto almost once a week. We found this recipe in La Cucina Italiana. We love this magazine so much we won't cut out any recipes, we keep the entire booklet intact. The recipes are authentic Italian, real comfort food.
Many people feel risotto is difficult to make, but once you get the technique down, it is easy.
Here are a few quick tips when making risotto:
- heat the stock and keeping it at a slow simmer
- keep the heat of the pan consistent, as much as it says to keep on medium heat, once you add the rice, we cook our risotto on medium low
- risotto cooks slowly, don't rush the process
We liked this Sausage Risotto with Cranberry Beans because it had beans in it. Most risottos have meats and/or vegetables but very rarely beans. It was a perfect dish, the chunky pieces of sausage brought a nice balance to the beans and rice. Try making a risotto recipe, you'll realize your time is worth the end result.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ medium onion, chopped
- 8 ounces Italian sausage, casings removed, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1¼ cups arborio rice
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 6 ounces canned cranberry beans, drained and rinsed (or small red pinto beans)
- 4 cups vegetable stock, boiling
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup freshly grated paramigiano-reggiano
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
Preparation
In a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion and sausage, and sauté until the onion is translucent and the sausage is cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Add the rice, and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Deglaze with the wine, and stir well, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the cranberry beans and ½ cup stock, stirring until the liquid is absorbed before adding more. Continue adding stock in ½-cup increments, stirring frequently, until the rice is fully cooked but still al dente, about 15 minutes. (You may not have to use all of the stock.)
Remove from the heat, and stir in the butter and grated Parmigiano. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and let rest for 2 minutes before serving.
