Risotto with sausage and borlotti beans
Meat mains
Risotto with sausage and borlotti beans
You can also make this robust, hearty risotto even earthier by substituting pearled spelt for the rice.
Ingredients
main
- 400g tin cooked borlotti beans
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 250g homemade sausage meat (freeze the rest for next time or for meatballs)
- 1.5 litre chicken stock
- 350g risotto rice
- 150ml red wine
to finish (mantecare)
- 2 tbsp butter
- 100g freshly grated Parmesan
- 1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
Method
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Step 1
Put the oil and onion in a large saucepan on a medium heat, and cook, stirring often, until translucent but not coloured. Add the crumbled sausage and cook, turning it over with a wooden spoon, until it becomes rich brown all over.
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Step 2
Add the beans and a couple of tablespoons of water from the bean pot, and mash about half the beans, pressing them against the bottom of the pan with the wooden spoon. Cook for about a minute, turning from time to time. Pour the stock into another pan and bring to a gentle simmer.
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Step 3
Turn the heat under the sausage/bean pan to medium and add the rice. Stir to coat and add the wine. Stir until it has evaporated or been absorbed and add a couple of ladles of hot stock. Keep stirring, adding more stock as needed until tender but firm to the bite, about 25 minutes. Don't worry if you haven't used all the stock (if you used pearled spelt you almost certainly won't have). Take the pan off the heat and do the mantecare step, swirling in the butter and grated Parmesan, turning the risotto about four times. Add the parsley and season to taste, then stir once or twice more.
