Sausage and Parsnip Risotto

Parsnip is quite possibly my favourite vegetable.  This current box of vegetables was the first that has contained any though (after about 15 months of deliveries).  Having eyed this recipe (from Jill Dupleix's Good Cooking: the New Essentials) for a couple of years, I was thrilled to be able to cook it tonight. 

Ingredients:
2 parsnips
1 onion, peeled
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 Italian pork sausages
4 rosemary sprigs
350g arborio rice (about 2 cups)
150mL light red wine
1.2L hot chicken stock
1 tablespoon tomato puree (paste)
1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon freshly grated parmesan

Peel the parsnips, slice thickly and cook in simmering, salted water for 10 minutes.  Drain and set aside.
Halve and finely slice the onion.  Melt half the butter with the olive oil in a heavy pan, add the onion and cook for a few minutes until softened.  Skin the sausages and pinch small portions into the pan.  Fry until well browned, then take out half the sausage and set aside.
Add the rosemary and rice to the pan and stir until well coated.  Add the wine and allow to bubble for 2 minutes, stirring, until absorbed.
Add a ladleful of stock to the rice, and stir until it is absorbed.  Add another ladleful and stir constantly (but calmly) with a wooden spoon until absorbed.  Continue this process for around 15 - 20 minutes until the rice is cooked and still creamy.
Add the tomato puree, sliced parsnips, reserved sausage, remaining butter, salt and pepper, parsley and parmesan.  Heat through and serve.

This is described as 'the culinary equivalent of a blazing fire and cashmere cushions'.  I concur.  Of course, I didn't replicate this exactly...  I bought the ingredients from memory, and obviously had a different recipe in my head so bought 'inexpensive fruity red wine' instead of light red wine (I wonder which recipe it was though?!).  Not being a wine connoisseur though this didn't really make a difference to me.  I also forgot all about the rosemary, so used some dried marjoram instead - acceptable, but I'd love to use rosemary next time.  I'm not a sausage-eater so I feel really out of my depth in that part of Woollies.  'Italian pork sausages', if present, were not labeled in that way, so I settled for chorizo sausages (I have another recipe waiting for them).  Next time I probably wouldn't use sausage but I'm loving the parsnip and red wine elements. 

I don't normally tell everyone what my future posts will be, but tomorrow is the day for drinking coffee.  CafeSmart cafes are donating $1 for every cup sold to grassroots services helping people who are homeless.  Can drinking coffee get any better?!  Look for your nearest participating cafe here.

Yesterday's photo:

Computer tantrums last night stopped me posting a daily photo.  I had this salad for lunch and it was just so pretty!

Today's photo:

I looked out randomly today and saw the trees on the next street lit up from the sun.  I ran upstairs with cameras and only managed to get 2 shots before the light changed and we were back to normal clouds.  Even so, I still missed the golden tree.