Risotto alla Campagnolo
Region: Italy, Veneto
Category: Rice, Couscous, and Other Grains
Season: Any
Difficulty: Medium Difficulty
A risotto is a special way of cooking rice in Italy. It reaches some glorious heights in the Veneto region where short grain rice is cooked in a flavorful broth slowly added. Alla campagnolo means, roughly, ?the way our buddies like it,? something you whip up among friends. (The usual Italian home cooks method of measuring rice, is one handful per person and one handful for the pot). Read How to Cook Risotto for some tips.
Yield: Makes 4 servings
Preparation Time: 1 hour
6 ounces mild Italian sausage, casing removed
1 small onion, very finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 cup very finely chopped fennel bulb
1/2 cup very finely chopped red bell pepper
4 fresh sage leaves, very finely chopped
1 cup short grain rice (Arborio)
4 to 6 cups hot or boiling vegetable broth (preferably homemade, or use canned broth or bouillon cubes, following the directions on the package)
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
1. In a heavy, 2-quart saucepan, crumble the sausage with the onions, garlic, fennel, red pepper, and sage leaves and cook over medium heat until the sausage turns color and the vegetables are soft, stirring and breaking up the meat further with a wooden spoon, 5 to 6 minutes. Taste the cooked sausage to see how fatty and salty it is. If it is fatty you will not need any other cooking fat. If it is very salty you will not need to salt the rice later.
2. Add the rice and cook for 2 minutes stirring well. Pour in 1/2 cup broth and stir. Once it has evaporated, pour in the wine and let it evaporate. Add 1 cup of the boiling broth, season with salt, if needed, and stir. Once the liquid evaporates, pour in another 1/2 cup broth. Continue adding broth in smaller and smaller amounts as it evaporates and is absorbed and cook until the rice is between al dente and tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour, and sometimes less, and sometimes a little more depending on the rice, stirring almost constantly. If you run out of broth continue with water. Do not cover the saucepan while it cooks and do not rinse the rice beforehand. Stir in the parmigiano cheese and serve.
Posted: 12/28/2006
