Kielbasa Veggie Risotto

This was delicious!

1/4 lb kielbasa, diced small
1 cup arborio rice
2 to 2.5 cups chicken broth/water combination
1/4 c dry sherry or white wine
about 2 cups diced veggies: onion, mushrooms, garlic, sweet or hot peppers (I used 1/2 poblano pepper), summer squash, zucchini
olive oil
butter
grated cheese

In 3 quart pot, sautee kielbasa in small amount of water. As water cooks down, add a little oil and the veggies, saute until soft. Remove all from the pan and set aside.

Heat 1 Tbl butter in the pot, add rice, let cook, stirring, for a couple minutes while you heat up the broth/water in something you can pour from. I usually use a pyrex measuring cup in the microwave. Scrape all the veg/kielbasa back into the pot, stir around, add small amounts of hot broth while stirring on medium heat. If you are using canned broth, you won’t need any salt, but if your broth is low/no salt you might want to add some salt.

Keep adding small amounts of hot broth, allowing it to cook down while stirring. Once at least 2 cups broth are absorbed, check the rice for doneness. If it’s done, skip the rest and go on to the wine. If it’s still crunchy in the middle, keep going with the broth until gone.

Then stir in the wine in 2 or 3 parts, stirring in between additions. Remove from heat. Stir in another teaspoon or two butter and about a handful of grated cheese – 1/4 cup or so. Grate some pepper on top, drizzle a little olive oil around it and it’s ready to go.

 

–K.W.Crosby 8/31/2012