Italian Sausage, Pea and Parsley Risotto

Serving: 15

This is a great dish for Maclean House, I actually think you could make a better risotto than most restaurants, This is a bold statement but the reason for this a risotto is always best when cooked and eaten straight away. Some restaurants half cook the rice so that it’s quicker to serve when an order comes in. Restaurants also struggle with the 20 minutes of labor it takes to stir it. The more stirring the better as it’s the starch in the rice that makes a great creamy risotto not cream!

Ingredients

2Ib                         Italian Sausage

4 cups                    Arborio rice

4                            Shallot (finely diced)

6 clove                   Garlic (finely minced)

½  bunch                Flat Parsley

2oz                        Butter

8 cups                    Chicken stock (stock cubes work for this)

4oz                        Parmesan (grated)

½ bot                     White wine (optional)

9oz                        Peas

Salt

Instructions

1. Heat a sauté pan or pot and add ½ of the butter then add shallot and garlic and sweat for 3-4 minutes without colour.
2. Remove the sausage from its skin break up and brown in the pan. (Using a quality sausage will be full of flavour and do loads of the work for you in terms of seasoning and enjoyment of the dish.) Cook for 2 minutes.
3. Now add rice, when you add the rice its vital that you “toast it” this is done by cooking it out in the pan with the sausage and shallots and making sure that every grain of rice gets coated in the other ingredient’s. You will start to hear the rice crackle this is an indication that you have toasted the rice properly.    
4. You are now ready to pour in wine, reduce until the wine has totally evaporated.
5. Start to add stock a ladle at a time making sure the previous stock has fully been absorbed. The real secret of making the best risotto is to continually stir with a non-metallic spoon whilst adding the stock. This elbow grease will make the risotto very light and creamy.  
6. Continue this method until rice is cooked, take it to how you like keep tasting and checking for how it’s cooked and how it is seasoned.
7. Double check seasoning, add peas and parsley. Finish with parmesan and butter.
8. The consistency of the risotto should be like lava from a volcano, if you were to serve it on a plate is should run to the edges. If it’s too thick its will be difficult to eat as it will be very heavy.

Notes

This dish is a cook and serve dish, it won’t heat back up once cooked very well as the rice becomes too starchy. However, the ingredients and preparation can be done in advance.