Reindeer sausage risotto

Reindeer sausage risotto, originally uploaded by Lisa Fagg.

This dish was inspired by a trip to the butcher's shop in December. As always, everything looked delightful and Christmassy and these reindeer sausages were no exception. We bought them on impulse. As it turns out, we had so much food to prepare and eat over the Christmas break that we couldn't find a 'slot' to fit these in. So into the freezer they went to resurface in January when our cooking frenzy had abated a bit.

I used a recipe from Francesco da Mosto's 2007 book Francesco's Kitchen:

Sausage Risotto

6 best quality sausages
30ml olive oil
60g butter, plus extra to serve
1/2 white onion, finely sliced
350g arborio rice
half a glass of dry white wine
1 litre beef stock
75g Parmesan cheese, grated, plus extra to serve
salt

Cook the sausage in an open pan with the oil, butter and finely sliced onion. Add a little salt and then cook at a moderate heat until the onion is golden brown.

Halve and set aside two of the sausages and cut the others into small pieces. Return these to the pan and add the rice. Mix thoroughly for a minute or so, making sure that the onion and rice are well mixed together. Add a half a glass of white wine and cook, stirring frequently.

When the wine has been absorbed, add the beef stock, stirring it in a little at a time and making sure that the rice does not stick to the bottom of the pan,

When the rice is ready - it must be very smooth - remove from the stove, adding a knob of butter and a generous handful of the grated Parmesan. Stir in energetically. Bring the risotto to the table, already served in bowls, with each portion topped by one of the reserved half-sausages - and further grated Parmesan.

Serves 4

-- from Francesco's Kitchen, 2007