Risotto with Sausage and Asparagus

TV and Film star Debi Mazar (Entourage, Goodfellas) and her Tuscan husband Gabriele Corcos make real home-style Italian classics.

” We are at our third episode! Very happy about it.  Today we had lunch with a delicious Risotto with Sausage and Asparagus to celebrate the arrival of Fall, and we popped open two bottles of wine!  Risotto is a very nice, comforting and filling dish; you might like a light appetizer before you get to it, or a fresh salad right after...either or, it will be a great meal.

We drank: Yellow Tail - Pinot Grigio Reserve 2003 and Chianti Ruffino - Il Ducale Reserve 2003.”

Getting Ready with the ingredients.

Chop your Onion, not too thin…
Chop the parsley very fine…
Wash the asparagus, and put it in a pot of boiling water (5-7 Min). Then move it into a plate, but save the water you cooked it in it.
Put a few asparagus aside (you will use it to decorate the dish), and chop the rest of it in 1/2-inch pieces.

Cooking your dish.

Sauté the onion on a medium-high flame.
When browned, remove the casing from the sausages, and break the content into the pan…cook the onion and the sausage together until all the meat is golden brown.
Do not worry; the onion won’t burn, as the sausages will start pouring juice in the pan…
Add the rice…stir until all the ingredients are properly mixed (about a minute).
Pour the wine and stir…Wait until almost all the wine is absorbed (let the alcohol evaporate)…

From now, until the rice is cooked, your job is to keep the rice always wet…but
not too much…Start using the broth, or if you prefer the water you cooked the asparagus in…add it slowly, while stirring…
Season the rice with salt, pepper, the red pepper (if you’d like) and some of the parsley (save some to add a final sprinkle to the dish before serving)…
About ten minutes before your timer rings add the chopped asparagus.

Start soon tasting the rice, and bring it to the end of its cooking time!
Serve the rice on top of the asparagus you saved, sprinkle with parsley, the grated Parmesan…and a drop of olive oil, the good one…

Buon Appetito
Debi & Gabriele