Lovely `Al dente`

Passport & Plate - Spicy Chorizo Risotto

Russian Federation | Monday, February 17, 2014 | 4 photos

Ingredients
300 g Chorizo sausage
150 g Pecorino Cheese
At least 500g of different forest mushrooms- the more the merrier
A big handful of Arborio Rice for each person – I am never really precise with measuring
3-4 celery sticks
1 medium red onion\
3-4 large garlic cloves- I say there`s never too much garlic
2-3 tpsp olive oil
Large knob of butter
1,5 liter of pretty much any stock- I used beef but it really does not matter

 

How to prepare this recipe
1. Roughly chop celery, onion and the garlic-that is what I call it our risotto base.
2. Heat the oil and the butter in a large thick frying pan. The deeper it is the better.
3. So you put the base in and fry it until it becomes softer and smoother
4. Then you add the chopped chorizo and heat it until the fat in the sausage starts to melt
5. Add the mushrooms, I prefer them cut into large pieces but it is up you to decide.
6. Once the mushrooms start giving away the juices and the texture becomes sort of creamy its time to add the rice. Mix it well and let it absorb all the juices in the pan.
7. Then you start adding the stock ladle by ladle each one after the rice absorbs the previous stirring it pretty much non stop. I never leave my risotto more than for one minute and it is always rewarded.
You know it is ready when the texture is creamy, but not sticky. The rice should be` al dente` like the pasta.
8. At last you intensely stir in the grated pecorino cheese and your amazing spicy and very autumn risotto is ready to sereve

 

The story behind this recipe
The story behind my recipie goes back a few years from now on.It all started when i grew old enough my mom decided its ok for me to actually make lunch or dinner for the family without her assistance.So i took a cookbook by Julia Vysitskaya-a famous russian cook show host- and came across a risotto section.Even though my parents tried their best to take me all over the world an i have visited Italy as a kid-that was something i have never tasted.And the recipies looked amazing,complicated,challenging with all the fuss about the 'al dente' texture, proper dish materials and a threat to never leave the process untill its cooked to perfection.So with all the trembling exitement i started cooking my first ever mushroom risotto.Had it been luck,or my desire to perfect it-it came out amazing.So I got inspired and continued trying more recipies.Me an my family started ordering risotto every time i ate out.It might be not modest at all- but a lot of times mine were significantly better.So from that time on i have been considering risotto my signature dish.This original recipie i present to you is something i came up with during my food crisis.I was so fed up with all the things i have cooked before, i needed something creative and new.That day i recieved an amazing chorizo sausage from my friends who got back from a journey.I was trying to figure out what to do with it and naturally risotto came to my mind.The only trouble was i coud not find any nice parmesan in a store nearby.So my only option was pecorino cheese I had in the fridge.I was a bit worried about that as both chorizo and my cheese were extremely spicy and salty it coud be too much to taste good.But i took a risk and with adding more butter that usual and putting no seasoning at all i did it.It came out even better then expected! Those products gave a whole new twist to the dish.And so my passion goes on.