Italian Sausage and Mushroom Risotto

Start Cooking the Onion, Sausage and Mushroom (SEE NOTES IF USING DRIED PORCINI MUSHROOMS)

Add 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil to a large sauté pan over medium high heat, then add the chopped onion. Cook until onion is translucent, but don't let it brown. In another small pan, sauté the fresh mushrooms in some oil, set aside.

Push onion to one side of saute pan, and add sausages (make sure casings have been removed.

Stir the onions, then start breaking sausage (I like to use a flat, wooden spatula tool, like you see in the photos) into smaller pieces.

Once sausage is broken up, mix onions and sausage together until sausage is fully cooked and starts to brown. Remove from pan and set aside with the soaked porcini mushrooms or fresh sauteed mushrooms.

In same pan, add 1 tablespoonful of olive oil, (heat should still be medium high), then add rice. Stir constantly,  (add a little more oil if rice is too dry or sticks,) and cook for 1 minute.

Add wine and stir constantly until it evaporates

Start adding about ½ cup (115 ml) of hot stock (keep it in a pot on the stove) at a time, stirring so the rice doesn't stick and until it is absorbed

Continue adding the stock to the rice, always stirring. The rice will continue to grow as you add the water.

Once all the water has been added, return the other ingredients to the pan

Stir thoroughly and continue to cook until the rice is al dente. It should take no longer than 20 minutes to cook risotto; 18 minutes is usually perfect.

At this point, if the rice should be ready. Remove from heat and add the butter. This is the "mantecazione" of the risotto, which essentially is the final step to make the risotto creamy.

Add the grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and stir until the butter and cheese are no longer visible and the rice is creamy. Taste for salt and pepper, and adjust as needed. Serve hot.