ramp and sausage risotto

Now this is the way to start off the CSA season: ramp and sausage risotto! I found this idea through A Good Appetite on their page that lists the menu for the week. It seems this recipe is floating around the web. One of the things I like about looking for recipes on the web is reading the comments at the end. I like hearing about how others change or substitute ingredients for each recipe. Which is how I operate. Rarely do I have all the necessary ingredients and so I'm constantly changing it to accommodate what I have in my pantry. For this recipe, I did not have any vermouth and immediately thought to add the leftover white wine I had sitting in my fridge. Saw a comment that did this and that gave me confidence as I was cooking.

Also, I have to say that I love recipes that use the whole plant. This ramp and sausage recipe called for the ramp bulbs, stems and leaves. The leaves are sliced thin and added at the end of the recipe. I cut them and left them sitting on the kitchen counter. I had to go into the cupboard space beneath the bowl for a few things and after a while I started thinking perhaps something had died in my cupboard - the smell was so strong. I got worried. Then, I realized the smell was the ramp leaves. Nonetheless, the leaves added another layer of flavor and made the whole meal look like fresh spring!

Oh, my goodness, it was so incredibly wonderful. I took some pictures while I was cooking, but woke this morning with the realization that I did not have the memory card in the camera, so no pictures. They wouldn't have captured the yumminess of this recipe anyway!

It's really fun to think about the fact that while these ramps are available in the woods - in abundance - they won't be there very long. Now I'm all fired up about foraging for my own.

Cooking risotto in this household is fun. There are a lot of "yes, chef!" thrown about. I admit that I am a fan of "Hell's Kitchen" and risotto is always on their menu. I'd never tried a risotto before watching this television show. It was surprisingly easy to prepare.

I bought the sausage at Ready Meats. I bought the regular which seemed spicy enough. I steamed up some broccoli (not from CSA) and served it on top of the risotto. I should have gotten from french bread to prepare some garlic bread, but I forgot, so some biscuits went into the oven.

Now I have spinach, rhubarb and parsnips left until Thursday. I gave all the sorrel to my mother, but plan to keep the next batch for myself. I'm going to try that sorrel dal recipe. Also, I looked at the "best guess" list for this week's delivery and read that we are getting asparagus and salad mix! I love the salad mix! It has flowers in it! So pretty and convenient! Yum!