Risotto with Pork Sausage and Porcini Mushrooms

We decided to make a risotto that we had not made in a long time. It is one of our favorites.

NOTE

The Oriental influence, often encountered in Venetian cuisine, is quite evident in this dish. Some people don't prepare it like a risotto, but add all the broth at once, cover tightly, and let the rice cook over low heat for about 15 minutes.



Risotto con Luganegh
Risotto with pork sausage
From The Cuisine of Venice & Surrounding Northern Regions
By Guisti-Lanham Dodi




2 quarts broth, chicken or beef
4 tablespoons butter
1 small onion (optional)
3 links 100% pork sausage, depending upon size
2 cups Italian rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Dried Porcini mushrooms


We added Porcini Mushrooms to the recipe. If you have dried porcini simply soak till they are soft. We then saute in butter and add to the risotto when it has almost absorbed all of the liquid.

Bring the broth to a boil. Reduce heat and continue to simmer. Place half the butter in a large saucepan; when it is melted add the onion, finely chopped. Skin the sausage and cut into chunks. When the onion is translucent, add the sausage and stir. Turn the sausage pieces until their fat is rendered. Add the rice and stir constantly until the rice is well coated and glistening. Add the wine and, a little at a time, the broth. Continue stirring; allow the broth to be almost absorbed before adding the next ladleful. The rice should never be allowed to dry out but neither should it ever be totally submerged in the broth.

When the risotto is half done (after about 15 minutes cooking time), add the salt and pepper and the remaining butter. Continue stirring. Add half the Parmesan and finish cooking. The exact cooking time cannot be given as it depends upon the quality of the rice. Italian rice tends to remain firm longer and yet the grains are held together by a creamy substance, made of butter, broth, cheese, and, in this case, pork sausage. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan over it before serving, or serve the cheese separately in a bowl fo: people to sprinkle over their individual dishes.
Serve with a Merlot, the ruby red wine of Friuli. The wine served with a dish should usually be the same as the one used in preparing it. But not for this risotto. Tradition wants that a white wine be used in cooking, but it would be possible to serve a light white wine with this very rich dish. It is a winter dish, ideally suited for a cold Sunday luncheon. Personally, I find it too filling to be treated as a first course, as other risottos are. It could be followed by a
vegetable dish, or by cheese and fruit.

Note
It is extremely important that the sausage be of the finest quality. Surely there is a butcher somewhere in your neighborhood who makes his own sausage.