Stilton Risotto with Sausage, Spring Greens and Crispy Sage

Remove the sausages from their skins. Heat one tablespoon of oil and the butter in a heavy bottomed pan and add the sausages to the pan, breaking them up with a wooden spoon so they resemble small meatballs. It doesn’t matter if some of the sausages break up too much; it simply adds to the whole texture.When the sausage is browned remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain out any excess oil so there is only about 1 tablespoon left in the pan.

Add the onions and fry over a lowish heat for 10 minutes or until the onions have softened. For the last minute of cooking add the garlic to the pan.

Add the rice and stir for a minute or two to coat the grains of rice. Pour over the glass of wine and keep stirring while the wine is absorbed into the grain. Gradually ladle the hot stock into the risotto letting it absorb between each ladleful. Keep stirring it, too, as this encourages the starch to come out, which is what makes risotto have that creamy texture.

With your last three ladlefuls of stock add in the spring greens. The rice is ready when the grains are cooked but still have a little bite and the rice is loose but not soupy. Add in the Stilton, and watch the risotto become rich and velvety.

In a separate, small frying pan, heat the remaining oil. Add the sage leaves and fry for a minute or two until crisp. Serve the risotto with a scattering of sage leaves.