Spicy Sausage and Tarragon Risotto

I made this recipe up on the go and I will admit I did not measure or time anything, so everything below is just guess work, but sound right to me. The flavours in this were super delicious. I added tarragon as a last minute idea and I'm so glad I did. Spicy sausage and tarragon are a very good mix of flavours.

If you don't like mushrooms, leave them out! If you don't like spinach, leave it out! This recipe is very adaptable.

When I went to type this up I realized I didn't use any olive oil or butter (which I normally do while cooking risotto). I was using a brand new non-stick pan and the sausage grease was sort of used as oil. If you're using an older pan or one without non-stick, you might have to add a little olive oil at the beginning.

Serves 3-4

3 spicy Italian sausages
1 small Spanish onion, (or 1/2 big one) diced
4-5 Crimini mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 red pepper, cut into bite sized pieces
1 cup dry arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
~ 3 cups chicken stock (have a little more on hand just in case)
handful of spinach
1/4 cup fresh Parmesan
1/2 tsp tarragon
s & p

Remove sausage from casing and add to a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Break sausage up with a wooden spoon while it cooks. When the sausage begins to appear cooked, add in the diced onions. Cook for about 5 minutes until the onions begin to become translucent. Add the mushrooms. Cook for another 5 minutes or so - try to get some color on the mushrooms. Add the garlic and red pepper. Cook for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add arborio rice and mix in with the sausage mixture. Add wine and stir to absorb. Add just enough of your chicken stock so it covers the rice. Allow the rice to absorb the chicken stock while stirring occasionally. Once the rice has almost fully absorbed the stock, add more - around 1/2 cup at a time. Repeat until you've used the 3 cups. This should take at least 15 minutes, if not longer. Test the rice to make sure its not too firm. If it tastes too firm, add more stock. Add a handful of spinach and stir until wilted. Add Parmesan, tarragon, black pepper and mix. Taste, I added just a little pinch of salt!

Enjoy!