Saturday 19 May 2007

Risotto with Artichokes and Italian Sausage



Risotto with Artichokes and Italian Sausage

We really love artichokes, the globe kind that is. I always seem to want to cook with then in Spring which is quite the wrong time in the UK, but there it is. I have had this risotto in mind since I bought Falling Cloudberries by Tessa Kiros, a few years ago now. Not so long ago I managed to buy some Ilatian sausages and they have been waiting in the freezer since, waiting for me to cook this risotto.



It was as good as I could have hoped it would be, and I’ve cooked a fair number of risottos! (or is it risotti in plural?). I used tinned artichokes, but here I trimmed them so that only the bottoms were used, diced up. I usually make vegetable risotto’s and pastas too mainly (though not exclusively). The two exceptions are this one and Tessa’s Tuscan Risotto from her Italian year of cooking book Twelve, it had mixed meats in it. Back to this one though, it had lots of flavour with the herby, almost floral sausages. I toyed with the idea of using chicken stock instead of the vegetable one, but eventually just went with the suggested vegetable. This was actually quite a light risotto, and I was a bit surprised because I though the meat would had made it a bit heavier. One that you could have dessert after, and I don’t think they all fall into this category!

I used to like less soupy risotto, but my tastes have changes a bit, and now I like a bit of liquid left when the rice is cooked. It seems to be up for debate if or not you have to stir your pan of rice almost constantly, and my take is you don’t have to but if you take the time to do it the end result is a lot creamier. I won’t give the recipe, because Falling Cloudberies is such a popular book.

8 comments:

Amanda at Little Foodies said...

Superb! I'm with you on preferring more liquid in risotto & not stirring it too! :) Amanda

lorraine@italianfoodies said...

Looks delicious!! I'm a bit lazy when it comes to artichokes, lots of prep involved but I do love them!!

Lis said...

Sounds delish =) I hate standing over a pan of risotto and stirring - but you are right, it's worth the pain in the butt for a creamier risotto.

The combo of artichokes & Italan sausage sounds so wonderful.. guess I'm going to have to add this book to my collection, yes? =)

xoxo

Anna's kitchen table said...

KJ, that risotto looks and sounds wonderful. Now how did I miss the recipe?
I love the Tuscan risotto from 'Twelve' too. In fact I was thinking of it only yesterday, that it's about time I made it again!
xx

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Risotto and dessert and risotto with such wonderful flavors! I'm a huge risotto fan and this sure looks like a keeper to me.
So now I'm up for another cookbook!

Kathryn said...

I love risotto too, haven't had it for months. Yours looks delish!!!

Kathryn x

Freya said...

I enjoy a soupy risotto too although some people find it a bit weird (i.e. my family who look at me strangely if I substitute parmesan for cheddar!). Great recipe and I agree, Falling Cloudberries is a wonderful book!

Kelly-Jane said...

Amanda, Lorraine, & Kathryn risotto rules yay! I'll have to try and get a couple more in before the Summer heat arrives.

Lis, Tanna, Falling Cloudberries is a lovely book - it's like loking through someones kitchen note book, but with lovely pictures too.

Anna, I've been thinking of the Tuscan one too :)

Freya, LOL about the cheese, families can be a bit hard sometimes! and FC is a beautiful book, with lovely recipes.