Risotto With Venison Sausage, Red Wine And Roasted Beetroot

The tummies wanted me to cook the same risotto (risotto with sausage, red wine and peas) again the very next day which I declined. I did compromise on making a different risotto using the venison sausages that we bought from La Parisienne Pate (Lygon Street, Carlton) at the end. I decided to pair the rather gamey sausages with roasted beetroot and the result is a delicious dish with the most amazing colour. 

P.S It might not be authentic but adding goat cheese and some walnuts might work well with this dish.

Recipe from the tummies' kitchen
serves 4 to 6 as a one dish meal
you'll need;
1 kg of arborio rice
1 onion, finely chopped
500 g of venison sausage, casing removed
2 beetroot, roasted*, cubed (beet leaves, chopped)
1.5 cups of warm red wine
7 L of hot chicken stock
500 g of venison, duck or kangaroo sausage
200 g of peas
200 g of parmesan cheese, grated
3 cm slice of butter
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
* to roast the beetroot - Wrap beetroot with foil and roast in a preheated oven at 180 C for 45 minutes.

Brown sausage meat with a little olive oil and set aside.

Chop onion and prepare the roasted beetroot.

Saute chopped onion with some olive oil til softer (do not colour) then add in the rice and coat the rice with the oil mixture, stir and toast the rice for a minute or two.

Add red wine and shake the pot til all the wine has has been resorbed by the rice.

Add enough hot stock to just cover the rice, give it a good stir and let it simmer on low heat til stock has been absorbed by the rice. Repeat the process til rice is al dente. (return beetroot and sausage meat to the pot 10 minutes into the cooking process)

When the rice is almost ready, add in butter, parmesan and beetroot leaves and stir vigorously for a minute. Check for seasonings.

Ladle some rice onto a plate and give it a good shake: it should just flow flat to all directions, otherwise your risotto is either too dry or it is overcooked. Drizzle some good extra virgin olive oil and more parmesan if your heart desires.