Spring risotto with pea, red radicchio and Italian sausages
Gino's just returned from his holiday in Italy and he's bought the sun with him with his family recipe for spring risotto with pea, red radicchio and Italian sausages. Not only does it take under 20 minutes to prepare, it's even got all the colours of the Italian flag - green peas, creamy white rice and sharp red radicchio.
Serves: 4
Ingredients
2 tbsp of olive oil, plus extra for drizzling25g butter4 sausages, skin removed1 onion, very finely chopped2 celery sticks, very finely chopped400g Arborio or Carnaroli rice110ml of white wine1.3 litres hot vegetable or chicken stock150g frozen peas, defrosted¼ head of radicchio, finely sliced100g butter80g Parmesan cheese, finely gratedSalt and finely ground black pepper
Method
Heat the olive oil and butter in a large heavy based frying pan on a high heat. When hot, add the sausage meat and fry, using a wooden spoon to break up the meat into small pieces. Fry until golden brown, then transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper using a slotted spoon. Keep warm.
In the same pan, cook the onion and celery for 2 minutes, then add the rice and fry for 3 minutes on a medium heat, allowing the rice to toast into the hot oil. Stir continuously with a wooden spoon. Pour the wine over the rice and continue to cook for a further minute to allow the alcohol to evaporate.
Add a couple of ladles of stock and bring to a simmer. Continue to cook and stir until all the stock is absorbed. At this point please stay with the saucepan because you need to keep stirring with a wooden spoon. Pour in the rest of the stock, except on ladleful, a little at a time, cook until each addition is absorbed. It is ready when all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is cooked but still has a slight bite. This will take 15-17 minutes (you may not need all the stock).
When the rice is just cooked, add the peas and radicchio. Add a final ladle of stock, stir, then remove from the heat and stir in the butter and Parmesan. Once the butter has melted, add three-quarters of the cooked and crumbled sausage meat. Season to taste.
Serve in warm bowls topped with the rest of the cooked sausage, a drizzle of olive oil and a little freshly ground black pepper.