Basilmomma

While I am Away…posts

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Enjoy this older post of mine…I am giving it new life ????

I can’t believe that I was once afraid to make Risotto.  I thought it was this hard, labor intensive dish that was drizzled in truffle oil and probably had the consistency of thick oatmeal.  I would watch Giada or Rachel make it on TV and they made it look sooo easy.  I put that on the list of things I thought I couldn’t make.  It was at #6 right after a turkey and right before homemade sourdough bread.  See, I have had this mental list of things I have tried or am afraid to try to cook in fear that I might fail.  1 or 2 of my Top Ten Will Most Likely Fail List items I have never had the gumption to try….until now.

A few months I came across a recipe online that looked so good I had to try it…that night.  The problem is it was Risotto.  That’s number 6 on my Will Fail list.  I decided to buck up and dive in.  After making some changes to some of the more caloric items I was ready to start.  That night a new Tallman Family favorite was born : Sausage Risotto. 
I hope you like it as much as we do. It is the perfect 1 skillet meal for a cold night.  This makes more than enough for a main dish for my family with a little leftover.  A great side dish would be roasted asparagus with lemon and butter or sauteed fresh green beans.

1 TB olive oil
2 16 oz. pkg’s of chicken or turkey sausage ( I prefer turkey to avoid the casing removal-yuck)

1 1/2 C finely chopped sweet onion

3-4 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp dried thyme
1 3/4 C and 2 TB ARBORIO rice.  This is the best one to use.
1 1/2 C dry white wine such as a Chardonnay.  Get one you like to drink as you will have leftovers ????
5 1/4 C chicken stock or decent broth-low sodium
1 1/2 C frozen petite sweet peas
2 TB butter
1 C fresh Parmesan cheese

In a heavy non stick skillet or dutch oven heat olive oil on medium and add onion and meat.  Saute until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.

                  Add Garlic and thyme and saute until garlic is fragrant , about 30 seconds.

Add rice, wine and 2 TB butter and stir 1-2 minutes or until wine is absorbed.

             Stir in 3 C broth.  Lower heat to medium-low and simmer….and stir…and stir….you can’t really leave this dish for long.  Simmer uncovered until broth is absorbed and is looking thick and creamy.  Continue adding the broth 1/4 C at a time letting each absorb before adding the next.  Continue to stir.  By the time you have added all of your broth/stock it should have taken maybe 5 minutes.  Lower the heat to your lowest setting and add the peas.

Fold the peas into the hot and saucy mix and add 1/2 of the Parmesan.  Continue to gently stir for another minute and add a few cracks of fresh pepper.

Garnish with a little fresh cut flat leaf parsley and a dusting of the remaining Parmesan cheese. 

                                                
Serve immediately!  This is really much easier than it looks.  I used a low-fat turkey this time because it was on sale.  I normally use Al Fresco brand Natural Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage.

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