Farrotto with dried mushrooms and sausage

• 20 minutes to prepare • 40 minutes to cook • Serves 4

 

 

Autunno dolciastro

Forget the traditional risotto!
Today you are going to discover farrotto, a risotto in which spelt is employed, instead of rice.

Farrotto mimics risotto’s cooking paths and borrows its luxuriously simple ingredients almost to the grain. It manages to capture risotto’s profound comfort quotient. But spelt manifests none of the demure, maidenly aspects of rice so that this dish virtually bounds off the tines and into your mouth, a muscular, robust, big wheaty presence. Whereas risotto graces plates of delicate ingredients, farrotto complements more ruggedly lamb, pork, or beef. The difference between risotto and farrotto is ultimately one of character.

Today's farrotto is a first course recipe full of proteins, in which spelt grains are enriched by the flavor of sausage and dried mushrooms, in a combination which is perfect for these early days of Autumn season!


Here's what you will need for the 4-serving recipe:

 

320 g spelt
1 shallot
100 g dried porcini mushrooms
200 g fresh sausage
1 l meat broth
1 glass red wine
50 g grated Parmesan cheese
EVO oil
salt and pepper

1. Place dried mushrooms in a bowl and cover them with hot water. Gently push on the mushrooms to submerge them into the water and soak for about 20 minutes. Mushrooms are ready to use when they have softened all the way through
2. Cut the skin of the sausage with the tip of a sharp knife and remove it. Cut the sausage into nibbles of equal size
3. Braise the chopped shallot with 2 tablespoons of EVO oil until golden, then add the sausage and let it become golden
4. Pour the spelt into the pan and let it toast for 1 minute
5. Simmer it with the red wine until it evaporates
6. Cook the spelt, adding a spoonful of boiling meat broth at a time, as for a risotto
7. A few moments before the spelt is done, remove the dried mushrooms from the water, squeezing them lightly to remove as much water as possible. Taste a mushroom: if you detect any grittiness, place the mushrooms in a strainer and rinse them under the faucet for several seconds, tossing them and making sure all the grit is gone. Finally, stir them in the risotto
8. Add freshly ground pepper and Parmesan cheese. Stir to mix, away from the heat and serve immediately!

In the following, Nutrition Facts of this dish are indicated. Data is provided per serving.

I enjoy cooking with wine, sometimes I even put it in the food I'm cooking
(Julia Child)