Mythical Herbed Pork and Tomato Risotto

Peel and finely dice the onion and and garlic. Chop the parsley and set aside. Remove the skin from the sausage and break the sausage meat up into chunks.

Heat 2 tsp of butter (if you have some) and 2 tsp of olive oil in a pan on medium-low heat. Add the onion and sausage and cook slowly for 5 mins until the onion is soft and the sausage is cooked, then add the garlic and cook for a further 1 minute. Tip: If you don’t have butter simply add a little more olive oil.

Add the risotto rice and fennel seeds and coat in the butter and olive oil. Turn heat to medium, add ¼ tsp of salt and stir. Tip: After about 3 mins there should be a slight translucency around the edges of the rice.

If you have some white wine in the kitchen, add 4 tbsp now. Tip: Let the alcohol in the wine bubble off for a minute to mellow the flavour. If you don’t have any wine don’t worry - just move to step 6.

Add ⅔ cup of stock and the passata mix to the rice and stir it with long, massaging motions. Once this has almost soaked in, add another ⅔ of a cup and continue stirring. Tip: Risotto does need a bit of attention but the resulting flavour is worth it!

Continue adding the liquid and stirring as above for around 15 to 20 mins. When the risotto is almost ready, add the Parmesan. Tip: The risotto is ready when the rice is cooked through but has the slightest hint of firmness left in the middle.