A couple of weeks ago, I decided that I would pick a seasonal ingredient and cook up typical Italian recipes from all over the country and across the regions. Artichokes were selected a couple of weeks ago and last week I decided to give the cauliflower some love.
I’m becoming a real fan of risottos recently and so has the ‘boy’. Therefore, I wanted to make sure that I had a risotto recipe in my repertoire this week. I found this Ventian recipe – a cauliflower and sausage risotto in cookbook ‘La Cucina’ – by the Academia Italiana della Cucina. The key to this recipe is ensuring that you don’t overcook the cauliflower, making sure you use Italian sausage (for a little saltiness & fat flavour) and what ever you do, don’t stop stirring until the rice is cooked.
Ingredients 3-4 people
1 cauliflower, cut into tiny florets
Olive oil.
1 onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
400g Luganega sausage, crumbled.
175ml white wine
300g Risotto
25g Parmesan
Salt & Pepper
Method
- First start by frying onion and celery in olive oil in a wide pan on a low heat until it’s translucent.
- Add the cauliflower florets to the veg, followed by the sausage.
- When the sausage is slightly browned, add the risotto rice, toast it and then pour in the wine. Cook and stir until the wine has evaporated.
- Then continue to cook the rice by slowly adding the hot stock and stirring continuously.
- Just before serving, add the grated parmesan and give it one last good stir.
