Brown Risotto with Vegan Sausage and Fennel

I love this dish when I have leftover brown rice that I want to use in a yummy way that’s more than just reheating. I make my own vegan sausage but you can buy a packaged one to save work, but I have to say that making it is soooooo easy and yummier than anything I have bought so far.

Makes 2-3 servings

Ingredient List:

• Vegan Sausage
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed, minced
• ½ red onion, fine dice
• Sea salt
• Crushed red chili flakes
• 1 stalk celery, fine dice
• 1 medium carrot, fine dice
• ¼ cup oil-cured sun-dried tomatoes, finely minced
• ½ cup cooked or canned cannellini beans, smashed with a fork (reserving cooking liquid)
• ¾ cup (approx.) vital wheat gluten flour
• Risotto
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled, halved
• ¼ fennel bulb, fronds trimmed, thinly sliced
• Sea salt
• Mirin or dry white wine
• ½ large carrot, sliced thinly on the diagonal
• 4-5 cauliflower florets, sliced
• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• 2-3 sprigs fresh flatleaf parsley, coarsely chopped

Step By Step Instructions:

Make the sausage. Place a small amount of oil in a skillet, along with garlic and onion over medium heat. When the onions begin to sizzle, add a pinch of salt and chili and sauté’ until translucent, about 2 minutes. Stir in celery and carrot, a pinch of salt and sauté’ until coated with oil, about 1 minute. Stir in sundried tomatoes and mashed beans. Add about ½ cup reserved liquid (from the can or cooking).

Slowly begin to stir in flour, 1-2 tablespoons at a time, until the bean mixture comes together to form a stiff, but not dry dough. It should be soft but not stick to your hands when you touch it. You may not use all the flour. It depends on the juiciness of your veggies and beans.

Form the mixture into logs the size of hot dogs. At this point, you can wrap the sausage in plastic and keep it in the fridge or freezer or you can pan-fry it or bake it. I prefer to leave it ‘raw’ and cook it as I need it.

Make the risotto. Place a small amount of oil in a deep skillet along with garlic. When the garlic begins to sizzle, add fennel and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring until the fennel is translucent, about 4 minutes. Add a generous splash of white wine and stir in carrots, cauliflower and a pinch of salt. Spread veggies evenly on the bottom of the skillet. Lay sausage rounds on top of the vegetables and top with rice, using the rice to cover the vegetables evenly. Sprinkle lightly with salt and add ¼ cup water. Cover and reduce heat to low, allowing the rice to simmer until the carrots are soft and there is no more liquid in the pan. Gently fold in parsley and serve immediately.

Cook’s Tip: You will have more sausage than you need for this dish. It will keep, wrapped, in the fridge for about 2 weeks and in the freezer for 1-2 months.

Cook’s Tip: You can streamline the process of this dish by using one of the vegan sausage brands on the market today.