Risotto is a dish that I have always thought I would enjoy. When I see it on a restaurant menu, I like all of the ingredients, but every time I have ever ordered it, I ended up hating it. After reading rave reviews of this recipe on The Food Network website I decided to try making it on my own and see if I could get better results at home. I’m happy to say this was a huge success! This dish is absolutely fantastic. Ben and I both really loved it.
This is one of Giada’s recipes from Food Network. It is especially great because it is really a very healthy dish. I used turkey sausage instead of regular Italian sausage to make it a little healthier. I also did not include the pancetta because I am generally not a fan of bacon. I would highly recommend this as a starting point for anyone who has never tried risotto before. Now that I have discovered that I actually do like it, I’m looking forward to other recipes with other things added in, so I’m sure there will be more risotto to come on my blog.
Dirty Risotto
Ingredients:
5 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons butter
2 links Italian turkey sausage, casing removed
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
4 ounces button mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
3/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
Directions:
In a medium saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer. Cover the broth and keep warm over low heat.
In a large heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the pancetta and sausage and saute until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the onion, bell pepper, and mushrooms and saute until tender, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the rice and stir to coat. Add the wine and simmer until the wine has almost completely evaporated, about 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup of simmering broth and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking the rice, adding the broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition of broth to absorb before adding the next, until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite and the mixture is creamy, about 25 to 30 minutes total. Remove from the heat. Stir in 3/4 of the Parmesan. Transfer the risotto to a serving bowl. Sprinkle with the parsley and remaining Parmesan and serve immediately.
