Mangia! {Tomato and Sausage Risotto}

I used to be seduced by food magazines in the check out line at the grocery store. Specifically, Everyday Food. How happy was I when I realized all of the recipes are online? My grocery bill thanked me.

The first time I made this recipe was on a weekday night for Jeromy in the first year that we were dating. I had to work at a certain time that night and thought I would have plenty of time to make this dish and then we could eat it while I was working. Unfortunately, as this was my first experience with risotto, I drastically underestimated the amount of time that I needed and my poor boyfriend ended up finishing the cooking while I worked. Jeromy is pretty amazing in the kitchen and didn’t mind, but my idea of dazzling him with my cooking and working multitasking abilities was not to be.

This recipe has become a favorite of ours. We’ve used many different types of sausage but the classic Italian pork sausage is the best. This time I used pork breakfast sausage from our portion of pig from Polyface Farms and it tasted great. I also substituted shallots for onions {I prefer the more subtle flavor in this dish} and used a bag of baby spinach for the convenience rather than buying a bunch of spinach, cleaning and chopping it.

Ingredients:

1 can {28 oz.} diced tomatoes, in juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium shallots, minced
1 pound italian sausage {sweet or hot, depending on preference}, casings removed
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 bag baby spinach {or two bags, depending on preference}
1/2 cup grated parmesan, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons butter

Method:

First, bring the tomatoes, their juice and three cups of water to a simmer over low heat.

Next, in a heavy pan {I use my dutch oven} heat the oil over medium. Add the shallots and sausage, then season with salt and pepper.

Once the meat is browned, stir in the Arborio rice. Stir until it’s nicely coated and toasted, one to two minutes.

Add the wine to the pot, stir until it is absorbed, about one minute.

Add about two cups of the simmering tomato and water mixture to the pot. Stir well to combine. Allow the rice to absorb the mixture, stirring occasionally. Once the two cups are almost completely absorbed, add another cup and stir occasionally.

Continue adding the simmering tomato mixture until the rice is creamy and just tender, about 25 minutes. You may not need all of the tomato and water mixture.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter, parmesan and spinach. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon into bowls or onto plates, sprinkle with parmesan and serve immediately. The risotto will thicken as it cools, but it reheats very well. We normally make a double batch, eat it for dinner and then package the leftovers for lunches.