Sausage & Taleggio Risotto

It's rare that I don't peek at the Arbutus menu walking down Frith Street on the way to work every morning. Right about this time of year, Anthony Demetre's taleggio and radicchio risotto appears on the menu, which I reproduced tonight. The cold weather tempted me to add one more delicious ingredient: Sienese sausage. I think it worked very well.

1 red onion

3 cloves garlic

3 small Sienese sausages (Camisa has good ones)

half small radicchio, cut into smallish pieces- not shredded

2 cups risotto (use carnaroli for more creaminess)

1-2 glasses red wine

home-made chicken stock

200 gr taleggio

parmesan

S&P

1-2 tblsp butter

1. saute onions and garlic in EVOO and a bit of butter
2. remove sausages from their casings and crumble into small pieces
3. once onions and garlic are soft, add sausage; break up as it's cooking; once sausage is all crumbled, let it saute further until it begins to brown (can leave for a few minutes at a time); every few minutes mix so that sausage can brown all over
4. by this time you will have lots of goodness forming on the bottom of the pan; add radicchio and let saute for a few minutes; then rice and stir for a couple minutes until well-coated
5. add wine, scrape the goodness from the bottom of the pan, let evaporate a bit
6. begin to add ladlefuls of stock until rice is al dente, seasoning as you go; add just a bit more broth at the end, along with the cheese and butter, then cover for a few minutes before serving
7. hopefully there will be a nice creaminess to the risotto, which you can top with a bit of grated parmesan, more S&P if needed