alex’s restaurant
Alex cooked dinner last night and, oh, what a meal he made! Two weeks ago, my mother forwarded me this Tomato and Sausage Risotto recipe from her Martha Stewart Everyday Food newsletter — like it surprises you that it runs in the family — with only the caption “this was very good.” I have been meaning to make it ever since, but I guess we can argue I lost my chance. As I put together a grocery order on Saturday night, aligning it to recipes Alex would want to cook this week and food I could assemble for myself while working at home, this risotto was at the top.
Because it’s fantastic! And really, how could it not be? Mom recommends it. It’s thick, hearty, actually contains flesh (something of a rarity on this site, I realize) and enough greens that if you’re too tuckered out to also assemble a salad, oh, it’s already in there. Of interest to nobody but me, it’s also ridiculously easy to eat with one hand, so gloppy and chunky in all of the best ways, as well as a most delicious of one-bowl meals.
And then he did the dishes.
As for the whole, you know, sling thing, I’m feeling a little better. The myriad of bruises are edging into rainbow stage, an eyesore but as any klutz knows, the first step in the right direction. Morning seems to be the worse time as I’ve stubbornly refused to take the heavier painkillers they’ve prescribed me, the thought of being groggy or even dizzy more frightening than discomfort. This morning, I plopped myself on the sofa waiting for the Advil to kick in and though I’ve resisted this so far, flipped on the morning talk shows. If there could be a better sign that I had made the right choice, Martha (OMG! Martha!!1!) herself was on, explaining Borat to her audience as “poopy humor.” Oh people, how could this not be a good day?
Tomato and Sausage Risotto
Martha Stewart Everyday Food
Serves 4
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes in juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
1 small onion, finely chopped
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 bunch flat-leaf spinach (10 to 14 ounces), washed well, tough stems removed, chopped (about 7 cups)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving (optional)
2 tablespoons butter
- In a small saucepan, combine tomatoes (with their juice) and 3 cups water. Bring just to a simmer; keep warm over low heat.
- In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add sausage and onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up sausage with a spoon, until sausage is opaque and onion has softened, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add rice; cook, stirring until well coated, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine; cook, stirring until absorbed, about 1 minute.
- Add about 2 cups hot tomato mixture to rice; simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until absorbed, 4 to 5 minutes. Continue adding tomato mixture, 1 cup at a time, waiting for one cup to be absorbed before adding the next, stirring occasionally, until rice is creamy and just tender, about 25 minutes total (you may not have to use all the liquid).
- Remove pan from heat. Stir in spinach, Parmesan, and butter; season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately (risotto will thicken as it cools), and sprinkle with additional Parmesan, if desired.
oh risotto, how i love thee… we typically do a mushroom or lobster risotto… love them both however this might have to be our new try next time we are in the mood…
i too have begun to have a rainbow of brusies since my crash landing down the stairs on sunday morning. here’s a trick to the medicine… take 1/2 a pill… it will do the job and you won’t be groggy…
*drool* I think I have found the dish to fix my boyfriend for New Year’s Eve. It’s perfect, it’s warm, and it looks like it induces cuddling. Also, Deb, I’m making the mac n’ cheese for the second time! I brought some in for my coworkers after I made the initial batch and it was specifically requested for the Thanksgiving potluck that we’re having tomorrow! Good job. :D
I love your bowls. And I would have given anything to hear the words “poopy humor” come out of Martha’s mouth…
A double coincidence! (Are you stalking me, gawd!) I made this recipe this past Sunday, and indeed it is pretty darn good. :D I was afraid of the spinach at first, but i washed it a hundred times to be sure.
When can I come by and pick up those dreadful painkillers?
This looks seriously great! What a wonderful direction mom steered you in. And he did the dishes. Incredible.
I may have to print this out and have my husband make it for ME sometime. If Alex can do it, I’m sure my Tom can do it. ;) I can’t believe I’ve never actually had risotto before.
ps. I thought of you last night as I made a recipe from your dear Ina, her Croque Monsieurs, which came out fabulous.
Ooooh, risotto! I love a good hearty risotto! It was just up on my blog as well:
http://cooknkate.wordpress.com/2006/11/09/risotto-a-la-milanese/
And this one looks really yummy too!
I”ve been wanting to try that one since I got the issue it’s in. My husband doesn’t like sausage though, so it’s going to have to be one of those recipes I make when he’s on the road for work. Glad it tastes as good as it looks.
The Martha dinner. The Martha cure. Martha does it all.
I’m glad you seem to be starting to mend. That was a nasty sounding fall. Sounds like Alex is taking good care of you while you recover.
The risotto looks heavenly. I usually just stick to a plain risotto made with chicken broth, onions, garlic and occasionally throwing in some halved, sauted shrimp, but this recipe is definitely worth it. Maybe I too will have the man in my life make it… he’s been up to cooking lately.
Hope your clavicle is doing better! Did you get copies of the x-rays btw? You should post them up :)
Do you think it’s ok to substitute whole grain brown rice for the Arborio? Because this dish looks sooooo yummy, but I’ve had to make some dietary changes that only allow brown rice.
And???? I managed to injure my foot again - apparently dropping firewood on it once wasn’t enough, so I did it again. Doesn’t that make you feel less klutzy now?
WHAT a gorgeous blog, hilarious commentary and beautiful photographs. The risotto sounds divine. I would like to invite you to look at my blog, but NOT at the photographs; I’m completely embarrassed now I’ve seen yours. Enjoy, and you are definitely bookmarked on my computer and I’ll describe your blog on mine. Keep cooking and writing, please!
Kristen
This looks fantastic- I’ve never really been drawn to risotto until looking at your pictures! I’ve never tasted it, but have always thought it just looked like over-cooked, mushy rice. (I have issues with food texture…). I can’t wait to make this one!
i made the risotto last night. It was fabulous (I’m eating it for lunch again today) but I found that there wasn’t enough liquid in the 28 oz can of tomatos to cook all the rice. I added another 14oz can of tomatos. I added it slowly, 1 cupful at a time as directed. Perhaps the heat was too high?
I hate to be the only nay-sayer here, but I made this recipe last night and it was really disappointing. Seemed under-seasoned and uninteresting, even a bit raw from all that tomato/water broth. A whole lot of stirring for very little flavor.
I got my husband to make this as well. His first risotto and boy, was he proud! We both thought it was very good and thankfully he cut the recipe in half or we would have eaten the 4 servings on one night. Thanks!
wooow !
i was loking for a good recipe …
and i gatta say … it taset like haven!
thanx and regards
Made this last night–superb! You do need to liberally season with salt and pepper though, especially if you’re using no salt added canned tomatoes. But overall, we loved it–the husband devoured his portion in about two minutes ;).
Yep, ours was good, too — we didn’t use the whole can of tomoatos — there was about 3/4 of a cup left. I thought the amount of spinach called for was a little out of control, though. I used less than half the amount. This was tasty — very “comfort food.”
Well done! This is a great recipe for the chilly nights that still lurk. Thanks. Hat tip to Pioneer Woman for leading me here.
I made this last night and my boyfriend claimed it was the best risotto he’s ever had. Like a few others, I did end up using more liquid than it called for (in the form of chicken broth, as I didn’t have any more tomato liquid) and I had to cook it for about 40 minutes to get a creamy enough consistency. I also subbed the white wine for chicken broth plus a squirt of lemon juice and it seemed to work great.
It did need a fair amount of salt and pepper, and I added some garlic with the onion, which made the whole dish intensely flavorful. I definitely recommend doing that. I also just tossed in a whole bag of baby spinach at the end, so no chopping was required there. All in all, it was a winner!
Oh, and we had it with the “famous” no-knead bread…delicious!
thanks for the post,
amanda
My mother and I just made this for dinner, for my father and ourselves, it was amazing. it was the first time we had ever made risotto and i can’t say enough good things about it. thank you so much!
I just made this for dinner and it was fantastic. I subbed in half of the spinach with arugula which gave it a nice bite.
Thursday night is the big food day each week at my house and this site has given me o much stuff to work with! I made this risotto tonight and there was silence for like 20 minutes cuz everyone was too involved with eating. It was a complete hit. I added a clove of garlic like Amanda and a few chopped basil leaves at the end which added a nice fresh flavor. Great recipe!