Tomato and Sausage Risotto with Steamed Broccoli

This meal comes from the Smitten Kitten food blog and appealed to our love of risotto. The saffron risotto we make is fantastic and we were eager to try a new variation to the rice. To make the meal healthier we decided to include a side of broccoli which ended up just being served on top. The picture below doesn't really do the dish justice, but trust me, it's delicious.

Tomato and Sausage Risotto
(originally found on the Smitten Kitten food blog)

Serves 4

1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
Olive oil
1 lb. italian chicken sausage, casing removed
1 onion, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 package (10-14 oz) spinach, chopped
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter

In a small saucepan, combine the tomatoes, and their juices, with 3 cups of water. Bring to a simmer and keep warm.

In a medium saucepan, saute the sausage and onion in some olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and break apart the sausage while it cooks. When the onion is soft and the sausage is cooked, stir in the rice and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the wine and cook, while stirring, until it has been absorbed.

Add 2 cups of the hot tomato mixture and simmer the rice over medium-low heat while stirring until it is almost completely absorbed. Continue by adding 1 cup of the hot tomato mix at a time, stirring until it is absorbed. Continue until the rice is cooked, tender and creamy. Not all of the tomato mixture may be needed.

Remove from heat and stir in the spinach, cheese, and butter. Season with salt and pepper and serve with additional Parmesan cheese on top.

We steamed some broccoli florets and served them over the risotto in a bowl.

Saffron Risotto with Chicken Sausage and Collard Greens

My saffron risotto has always been a big hit for the two of us. I highly, highly, highly recommend this risotto if you're willing to take the time to make it right. It probably takes me 45 minutes just to make the risotto and you can't rush it or it won't turn out well. Risottos themselves aren't enough to be an entree, but when we supplement the dish with some protein and greens, it's an incredibly filling meal. Brit's grandmother had sent us a polenta recipe that involves a sausage and veggie topping, including onions, spinach, mushrooms, and more. We loved the topping and decided to incorporate that idea into the risotto.

I sliced up an onion and bell pepper and sauteed them until they were soft. I then added some sliced garlic chicken sausage, cooked until browned, mixed in a few cloves of minced garlic, and then finished it off by throwing in some sliced mushrooms. The whole thing was cooked until the mushrooms were done and set aside until the risotto was ready.

I had also tried cooking some collard greens the previous night with some sliced onion, minced garlic, and chicken stock. The problem was that I had not actually finished cooking them by the time we were ready to eat the meal. So, we saved the collard greens and finished cooking them for tonight's meal. We served the dish by placing the collard greens, sausage, and veggies on top of the risotto.

Tofurkey and Veggies over Saffron Risotto

Brit's sister (Anja) and her sis's boyfriend (Drew) came to visit this weekend to see Brit and to go to the Yeasayer concert tomorrow night. Her sister is vegetarian and apparently doesn't have many options back home for eating good meat-free food. Brit really wanted to expose her to some good, tasty, vegetarian cooking this weekend to show her that it's possible to eat well with her diet. Tonight's meal is going to be an adaptation of a fantastic polenta dish that Brit's grandmother had sent us the recipe for and we've made a few times. The polenta is topped with some sauteed chicken sausage, onion, spinach, and some other veggies. We decided to take the topping, switch out the chicken sausage for some tofurkey we found at TJs, and serve the entire thing over my saffron risotto, which I would be making with veggie stock.

Saffron Risotto
(originally printed in a June 2007 SELF magazine)

Serves 5-6 (we doubled the recipe for our guests)

Olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped small
2 cups arborio rice
Salt
2 cups white wine
Large pinch of saffron
56 ounces veggie stock (I normally use chicken stock)
2 tbsp butter, quartered
1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Using a medium pot, simmer the stock.

Using a large pot, over medium heat, saute the onions in the olive oil until they are soft and translucent. Add in the rice and a pinch of salt and cook 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the wine and the saffron (appreciating the beautiful color that comes out of the saffron as it is cooked) and stir frequently until most of the wine is absorbed.

Add two ladles of stock to the rice and simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed. Continue to add a ladle of stock to the rice until the liquid is absorbed between each new addition. Once all of the stock has been absorbed stir in the butter until it is fully melted. Turn off the heat and stir in the cheese. Let the rice sit for 2 minutes and serve.

I had actually turned the heat down to low on this dish because I needed to waste some time while Brit helped Anja and Drew find parking. Because of this, I believe the dish turned out creamier and more delicious than I had ever made it. It might have also helped using a veggie stock (I find that TJ's veggie stock is tastier than their chicken variety) as well. Either way: yummmmmm!

The veggie topping that Brit made was tasty, but I wasn't a fan of the tofurkey we had bought. The texture was a little off and the flavor wasn't very exciting (at least for me).