Using the leftover lamb sausage and mushrooms from last night’s pizza, I made a risotto for tonight’s dinner. I sautéed the sausage in a little blood orange olive oil. The mushrooms were sliced and sautéed in a mixture of blood orange olive oil and EVOO, and seasoned with rosemary and garlic; and finished with a bit of dry Marsala. Then I added the sausage to the mushrooms. I started the risotto with a 1/3 cup of sliced onion softened in part blood orange olive oil and EVOO, then added the rice, coated the rice in onion and oil; and began adding mushroom stock in 3/4 cup increments. After adding over four cups of stock and thirty minutes of cooking (we’re at 7000 feet altitude), the rice was nearly done. I added the sausage/mushroom mixture, some Chervil, and another half cup of stock. Then I added over a cup of Parmagiano and stirred that in. Another half cup of stock and the risotto was a good texture.
The tasty risotto was enjoyed with a 1996 Azienda Agricola Falletto di Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco - it was run twice through our Vinturi; first, an hour and a half before dinner, into a decanter; then a half hour before dinner, it was run through the Vinturi again back into the bottle; then it was poured into Vinum Cab glasses immediately to allow the surface area in both glasses and the bottle in give the wine more air; fill was just below the capsule; color initially (in the decanter) was a bricky garnet, which deepened with time; pouring into the glasses, it still had a brick tone to the color, though deeper; by the time we sat down to dinner, the color had deepened to a rich ruby-garnet; rich nose and flavors of earthy, spicy red and dark fruits; a rich mid-palate with good acidity and soft tannins; and a long dark fruit finish. It was very good with the risotto.
We ate early tonight, so dessert will be pear, apple, and grappas after the sun goes down.