Sweet and Savory Risotto

DISCLAIMER: I highly recommend making my sausage-stuffed acorn squash recipe first so that you can use the leftover sausage stuffing mix for this dish, but if you don't want to go that route, you can always make the sausage stuffing mix particularly for this recipe (directions are provided in this post).

On the night I made this dish, I was exhausted from work and looking for an easy recipe for Meatless Monday, so I thought, Butternut Squash Risotto! Well, sadly, when I went to my crisper drawer, I discovered that my pre-cut butternut squash had turned bad and slimy and the frozen butternut squash puree that was in my freezer was past its shelf life as well! One of my major flaws is that I am just terrible about properly organizing my freezer. Oh, well, I guess we can't all be perfect. Anyway...I digress. So, I happened to remember that I had leftover sausage/apple/onion/raisin mixture from a few days prior when I made my stuffed acorn squash recipe, and I figured that would make for an interesting dish. So, it wasn't meatless, but upon eagerly finishing seconds of this dish, my husband exclaimed, "This might be one of the best things you've ever made." THAT phrase is music to my ears. I hope you find this recipe equally satisfying.

SWEET AND SAVORY RISOTTO

Course: Main or Side Dish Total Time: 45 minutes Serving Size: 2 - 3

INGREDIENTS:

Sausage Stuffing:

2 Tsp Olive Oil

1/4 C. Sweet Onion (finely diced)

1 Apple (any variety, finely diced)

1/4 C. Golden Raisins

1/16 Tsp Ground Cinnamon

1/8 Tsp Dried Sage

1/8 Tsp Dried Thyme

8 Oz. Cooked and Crumbled Country Pork Sausage

1/8 C. Chopped Pecans

Risotto:

1/2 C. Arborio Rice

2 C. Chicken Stock (pre-warmed)

3 Tbsp Garlic-Infused Olive Oil (non-flavored olive oil will work equally well)

1 Tbsp Butter

1/4 C. Sweet Onion (finely diced)

1/2 Tsp Salt

1/4 Tsp Sage

1/4 Tsp Black Pepper

1/4 - 1/2 C. Shredded Parmesan Cheese

1/4 C. Dry White Wine

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Saute all of the ingredients for the sausage in a large skillet until sausage is browned, onions are soft and translucent, and until apples are fork tender.

2. In a separate skillet or pan, saute onions with 1-1/2 tbsp of the garlic-infused olive oil until softened and translucent.

3. Add the remaining oil and arborio rice to the pot. Stir until rice is lightly toasted.

4. Add sausage mixture, salt, black pepper and sage to the pot and stir until thoroughly combined with onions and rice.

5. Add dry white wine and stir until wine is mostly absorbed into the mixture.

6. Add warmed chicken broth to the mixture in 1/4 to 1/2 cup measurements and stir, cooking on a slow simmer until liquid has been mostly absorbed into the mixture before adding additional liquid.

7. Once all of the chicken broth has been absorbed, and the risotto is almost complete, add the butter and the parmesan cheese. Stir until thoroughly combine.

8. Serve and eat!

NOTES:

Save your leftover risotto (if there is any), refrigerate and repurpose as arancini for another night. Simply roll scoops of the refrigerated rice into large balls, dropping in flour, egg, and finally bread crumbs and fry until golden brown.