Drunken Risotto with Sausage and Spinach

By Tonya_Speed

This is a rice version of a pasta dish I made on Iron Chef years ago. It's really good. (Mario Batali and I won.)

Ingredients

• 3 cups dry red wine
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 3/4 pound bulk Italian sweet or hot sausage
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups arborio rice
• Salt and pepper
• 1/3 pound spinach leaves, stemmed and chopped (about 2 cups)
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup grated pecorino-romano cheese

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from rachaelraymag.com

Preparation

Step 1

1.In a large saucepan, combine the wine and chicken stock; keep warm over a low flame.

2.In a large, heavy pot, heat the EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, crumbling the meat, until browned, about 2 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the rice and season with salt and pepper. Add the warm wine-stock mixture a couple of ladlefuls at a time, stirring vigorously after each addition and letting the liquid evaporate before adding more, cooking the risotto for 18 minutes.

3.In the last 5 minutes of cooking, stir in the spinach, a handful at a time, to wilt. Stir in the nutmeg. In the last minute of cooking, stir in the butter, then the cheese.