I had some of those yummy Sausages from Ticino left over from lunchtime, so I decided they would be a rather delicious ingredient in a risotto. It’s only recently that I mastered the art of risotto making and now look for more and more interesting combinations of ingredients for new and exciting risottos.

RISOTTO AI FUNGHI E SALSICCIA – SAUSAGE AND MUSHROOM RISOTTO
SERVES 2-3
INGREDIENTS
- 200g Arborio rice
- 2 Glasses dry white wine
- 700ml Chicken stock, hot
- 250g Chesnut mushrooms, sliced
- 2 Large good quality Italian sausages, skin removed and broken into small pieces
- 1 Large onion, finely diced
- 1 Clove garlic, finely chopped
- 1 bunch chives, finely chopped
- 1 sprig parsley, finely chopped
- 50g Parmesan cheese, finey grated
- Olive oil
- A generous knob of butter
- Sea salt and freshly milled black pepper
PREPARATION
- Heat some olive oil in a large pan and add the sausage, fry gently until beginning to turn golden.
- Add the onions and garlic to the pan with the sausage and continue to fry until the onion becomes translucient.
- Add the sliced mushrooms to the pan and continue to fry until the mushrooms soften.
- Add the rice to the pot stirring well to ensure each grain is well coated in olive oil, fry gently for a couple of minutes.
- Add the wine to the pot and stir well, turn down the heat to a simmer.
- Once all of the wine has been absorbed by the rice begin to add the stock slowly a ladle at a time, only adding further stock once the risotto is almost dry. This should take about 15-20 minutes.
- Check to see whether the rice is cooked, if not continue to add stock until the rice is soft but still with a little bite, if you run out of stock then continue with water.
- Once the rice is cooked remove from the heat and check the seasoning. Add the cheese, a knob of butter and cover with a lid for 2 minutes.
After the 2 minutes is up stir in the fresh herbs and serve immediately

valentina | 07-May-06 at 9:32 am | Permalink
What an interesting combination. Your risoto looks so lovely and creamy.
Ken Sloan | 29-May-06 at 9:06 am | Permalink
That is one freakin’ tasty looking risotto! What is a chestnut mushroom??
Posie | 29-May-06 at 10:31 am | Permalink
Thanks Ken!
A chestnut mushroom is the brown variant of the common white mushroom, they are light to dark brown in colour and have a “nutty” flavour in comparison to their white cousins. They have a lower water content than white mushrooms so shrink less during the cooking process.
Posie | 29-May-06 at 10:32 am | Permalink
Meant to say thanks for stopping by. I see you too have a food blog, I’m off to visit it.
Ken Sloan | 29-May-06 at 5:59 pm | Permalink
Oh, thank you
The brown mushrooms that look like white button mushrooms here are usually crimini. They seem pretty similar…