I’m sure you’ve already noticed that I’m one of those annoying people that has been on Christmas mode since the day after Halloween. I keep reading people saying they are “trying to get into the holiday spirit” and I’m like: “What’s wrong with you people? Just embrace the Christmas magic, decorate your tree, bake lots of cookies, play Christmas tunes all day long and write a letter to Santa.” ?? But the truth is that not everybody is as Christmas-holic as me and that this time of the year can be pretty darn stressful. So I thought I would share something delicious and non holiday related to get you through the holiday madness! For me, risotto is one of those magic foods that are comforting but also sophisticated. So this Collard Greens and Italian Sausage Risotto doubles both as a “I had a stressful day at work and need to eat something that soothes my soul” meal and “I have guests for dinner and need to impress them with something fancy” meal.
This recipe is inspired by a video I saw on Snapchat the other day. Oh yeah, I’m a snapchatter now, can you believe it? Add me (@oliviascuisine) so you can see some madness behind the scenes of my silly little life.
But I digress. I saw someone making a similar sausage risotto at the Tastemade account, but by the time I realized I would love to recreate it, the video was gone and I had no means of saving it or even getting the guy’s name to give him credit. (I really need to up my snapchat game!) So I pretty much created my own version and I’m really happy with it. This risotto is one of the best risottos I’ve eaten in my life, and you guys know I’m a risotto fan! I literally ate the leftovers all week long and am now considering making it again, because I’m already craving it.
I also almost called this Brazilian Collard Greens and Sausage Risotto, because we make a similar risotto down in Brazil, only with calabresa sausage. But I ended up using sweet Italian sausage, because it’s available everywhere and it’s so delicious! And it also pairs great with the collard greens. Collard greens are really popular down in Brazil. We love it and we eat it weekly, mostly sautéed with olive oil and lots of garlic. It’s also really good for you, which allows me to call this risotto somewhat healthy? I mean, there are worse things we could be eating, right? Like… ugh… ramen noodles? (Yep, I am guilty of eating that stuff when I’m in a pinch and all I’ve cooked all day was desserts for the blog!)
Arborio rice is definitely a must in my pantry. If you always have arborio rice, cheese, wine and broth, you will never need to eat ramen again. I promise! Also, risottos are a great way of using whatever leftovers you have in the fridge. Mostly anything can be transformed into a risotto. Even chocolate! And please don’t be intimidated at making risotto just because snobs people say it’s hard. It is not! It just needs some TLC, which is totally worth it because there is nothing more rewarding than a plate of fresh risotto. Especially if it has sausage and collard greens in it! ❤️
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