5 Calabrian Chili, seeded, plus 1 tablespoon of the liquid they are packed in
2 cloves of Garlic, Sliced Thin
2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
1 Pint of Heavy Cream
1 Cup of Vodka
Salt to taste
3 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Risotto
1 Cup Risotto
1-2 Tablespoons of Cold Butter
1/4 Lb Ground Hot Italian Sausage
50/50 blend of Grated Parmigiano and Pecorino Romano
1 Cup of White Wine
4 Cups of Good QualityChicken Broth or Stock
3 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Cup of Spicy Bell Pepper Sauce
Salt to taste
Pepper and Onion Relish
1/8- 1/4 Cup Reserved Sautéed Peppers and Onions
1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil
1 Teaspoon of Red Wine Vinegar
1 Teaspoon of Lemon Juice
Salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Making the Bell Pepper Sauce
To remove the skin of the peppers, coat with a touch of oil and then place in the oven under the broilers and cook until the skin starts to char slightly, moving the peppers around until evenly charred all the way around. You don’t need too much char for this. That smokey char is not a flavor I want to emphasize in this dish. Once charred, place them in a bowl or ziplock bag and cover them in plastic wrap and let them steam for 15 minutes. While that steams, prep the rest of the ingredients.
Slice the onion and garlic thinly
By now the peppers should be steamed. Using your knife, scrape the skin off the peppers, remove the seeds and stem, and cut them into thin slices.
In a large sauté pan preheated on medium-high heat, add a few tablespoons of olive oil and then get the onions in first to get them going. Season with salt and let those cook on high heat to try to get a nice golden brown char going on them just like you might when making a sausage and pepper hero. It’s not really a true “caramelized” onion, it’s a blend between caramelized and fried onions. If they are frying too fast, lower the heat slightly and if they aren’t developing any color, adjust the heat back up, and once slightly fried and caramelized, add the peppers. Cook for a few minutes until the onions are fully translucent and soft and starting to brown slightly. Then add the garlic, and Calabrian chilis and cook until the garlic softens and begins to slightly brown around the edges. Then pull out make 1/8-1/4 cup of the onions and peppers and place them in a little bowl for a little garnish. Then add two tablespoons of tomato paste and then incorporate that into the vegetables and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add just about a pint of cream but I like to add most of the pint and then have the ability to add more later if it's too thick later. lower the heat to medium and cook for about 5 minutes or until the cream has thickened. Let cool slightly and then blend until smooth. Reserve until ready to add to the risotto.
Pepper and Onion Relish
Take the sautéed peppers and onions you pulled out and chop those into the texture of a relish or a fine dice. Then place back into the little bowl, season with salt, olive oil, a few drops of Red Wine Vinegar, and a couple of squirts of lemon juice, and mix up and set aside. It should be bright so you get these subtle pops of acidity that cut through a lot of the fat in the dish and add to the eating experience. Set aside until you’re ready to plate.
Making the Risotto
Remove the sausage from its casing and roll them into little tiny balls. Same idea as the croutons, the smaller they are the more you can fit with every bite. But don’t go so small that they fry into a ground meat texture. You’re looking for a crispy, bouncy texture at the end.
Get the stock in a pan simmering on the stove. We don’t want it to reduce or evaporate, so just keep it on a simmer or you could just turn the heat off and hold it
Next to that, preheat a high-rimmed sauté pan or saucier on high heat. Once the pan is hot, add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and the little sausage meatballs and season with a touch of salt. Let the meatballs sear hard on one side, don’t touch them until they can release from the pa. Once browned, release them from the pan and mix the balls around to brown evenly on all sides. Keep the heat high so they cook cast and brown but don’t overcook. Once browned on all sides, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon.
Then add the rice. Get the rice coated in that sausage fat and cook for a couple of minutes moving around constantly. Use your nose and once you can smell a slight nuttiness, you just want to wake up the rice and lightly toast it. Then you can add the wine and deglaze.
Cook that down until there’s almost nothing left.
Now begin to slowly add the stock a couple of labels at a time over medium heat. Use the wooden spoon to work the risotto. You don’t have to stand over it the entire time stirring but you do need to be present and stirring every other minute or two. When the rice absorbs most of the stock and gets a bit dry, add a little more stock and keep working it.
After about 18-20 minutes, hit it with a little salt, and begin tasting. You don’t want it mushy but you don’t want it crunchy. I keep working it until it no longer gets stuck in my teeth and the bite tastes pleasant to me.
Once I determine the risotto is cooked to my liking, add a cup or so of the bell pepper sauce and work that in until fully incorporated. At this point, it's okay if the sauce is not fully thick yet because we’re about to add cheese and butter so if it's too thick now, it's not going to flow like a risotto should, so kill the heat and then add the cold butter and work that in. The cold butter should have cooled the risotto enough to add the parmigiano, and pecorino cheese blend in and have them melt in properly. Taste and adjust the seasoning and then right before serving, if it’s too thick and doesn’t flow, add another label of the stock to maintain the perfect consistency for serving. If it's not thick enough, cook it down further or add more cheese.
Plate a few spoonfuls into the center of the plate and then lean the plate in a circle to get it to spread out into a single layer. Then scatter the little meatballs on top of the risotto, followed by little dots of the bright pepper and onion relish, followed by the little croutons, a sprinkle of the cheese, and finally a little extra virgin olive oil. Try to get everything in one bite the risotto, the relish, the sausage, and the croutons and your tongue will be dancing in joy.
