Sausage and Asparagus Tomato Risotto

Yesterday I was bored at work and all I could think about was what to make for dinner. I first thought of what we had in our fridge. Well, the only meat that didn't need defrosting was some sausage. So I looked up some sausage pins on pinterest and punchfork (I'm starting to really love this site). While Pinterest gave me a lot of great pics of dachshunds, punchfork came up with this interesting recipe: Tomato and Sausage Risotto. 

From thier excellent picture, I was hooked! I had everything I needed for the recipe at home, so it was perfect! 

Yummy picture from smittenkitchen.com

As gorgeous as that looks, this is what my risotto looked like. 

Not as pretty but so good!

What did I do wrong?? :)

Well, I again made some changes: 

• I put in asparagus instead of spinach since that's the green veggie we had on hand. 
• We have chicken sausage vs pork/spicy italian sausage, so there was no "removing the casing and use the innards". I just chopped up one sausage finely and kept the other two in slices. 
• I used brown rice instead of arborio rice. after an extensive online search, it appeared that the japanese brown rice that I had would work
• I had no white wine (abserd in my house!) so I just used the stock to scrape up the goodness. Thinking about it today, I should have used at least a vinegar or SOME acid to assist. 
• I used Trader Joe's tomato sauce vs just a can of tomatoes 
• I used chicken stock instead of water

I found another recipe that used asparagus in their risotto. They suggested blanching it first and then adding it to the mixture when you're done adding all the liquid. I found that didn't make sense. Why not just cook it while you're cooking the rice. I found out why, it takes so long to cook the rice that the asparagus loses it's starch! 

Another tip, do not add the 1/2 cup of cheese until you are done mixing the liquids in. The cheese is very gooey and it starts to stick to the bottom of the pot. 

Delicious. We steamed up some broccoli as well and added it in the end and it was an excellent addition. We also ended up putting some chili flakes for an extra kick. It really did turn into more of a jumbalaya than a risotto, whatever you call it, it was yummy. And filling, the two of us barely ate 2/5 of the pot! So much leftover and I think it should freeze well (bonus)! 

Honestly, this was a very good recipe but I won't make it again. 

1. I could have just made rice in my rice cooker and probably gotten the same level of "creaminess" by taking it out a little early and cooking it in the pot. 

2. It took so long to get the stock to integrate with the rice. I understand that the technique is a large part of this dish but for a weeknight dinner, it just wasn't what I was up for. 

Here's the recipe! From smittenkitchen.com

Tomato and Sausage Risotto
Adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food

Serves 4

1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes in juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
1 small onion, finely chopped
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 bunch flat-leaf spinach (10 to 14 ounces), washed well, tough stems removed, chopped (about 7 cups)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving (optional)
2 tablespoons butter

1. In a small saucepan, combine tomatoes (with their juice) and 3 cups water. Bring just to a simmer; keep warm over low heat.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add sausage and onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up sausage with a spoon, until sausage is opaque and onion has softened, 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Add rice; cook, stirring until well coated, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine; cook, stirring until absorbed, about 1 minute.
4. Add about 2 cups hot tomato mixture to rice; simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until absorbed, 4 to 5 minutes. Continue adding tomato mixture, 1 cup at a time, waiting for one cup to be absorbed before adding the next, stirring occasionally, until rice is creamy and just tender, about 25 minutes total (you may not have to use all the liquid).
5. Remove pan from heat. Stir in spinach, Parmesan, and butter; season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately (risotto will thicken as it cools), and sprinkle with additional Parmesan, if desired.