Roasted Apple Risotto with Almonds and Arugula

 
This was one of those make-it-up on the spot recipes that worked out phenomenally well.  It started when roomie and I walked over to the Bloomfield farmer's market on a nice fall afternoon, and I wanted to buy some apples for lunches and snacking and such.  I bought a small basket of Cortlands, which the farm lady said would be great for eating as is.  Sadly, she was wrong.  The apples were totally wrong in taste and texture: slightly mushy/mealy, bland, and sad.  I didn't want to waste them, of course, and I considered ways I could cook them into something lovely.  Not too long before this apple shopping mishap, roomie had made a simple and delicious basic risotto with roasted sweet potatoes just gently stirred in.  It was delicious and comforting and oozed of homey fall goodness, so I thought I'd try to create a similar kind of sweet and savory autumnal risotto to redeem the bad apples.  So it's a pretty basic risotto, subbing in red onion and red wine for their usually yellow/white counterparts, with the addition of some roasted apple pieces and soymeat crumbles.  I don't usually brag too much, but this risotto on its own is really fantastic.   If you want to fancy it up even more and plate it restaurant-style to impress someone, instructions for that follow.  I listed the ingredients in a helpful prep order.

K, in creamy fall heaven!

 
Roasted Apple Risotto
1/2 tube Gimme Lean soy sausage, crumbled, and browned in a bit of canola oil (you can use the extra to make breakfast patties or just freeze it for future use)
3-4 unhappy apples, cored, diced, tossed in canola oil and roasted at 350 until soft and caramelized

2 T. unsalted butter
1 medium red onion, diced
1 1/2 c. arborio rice
scant 3/4 c. red wine (I used a pinot noir)
3-4 c. hot broth or stock
fresh thyme stripped from 3-4 sprigs 
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1. Brown the soy sausage and roast the apples while you prep and measure out the other ingredients and heat the broth or stock you're using.  Cover and set aside apples and soy sausage when done.
2. Melt butter over medium-high heat, add onions, and sauté until nice and soft.  Sprinkle with a bit of salt.
3.  Add rice to onions, and toss to coat in butter.  Cook just under 2 minutes.  Then add red wine, and stir until most, but not all, of the liquid is absorbed by the rice.  Add thyme.
4.  Add hot broth by the ladleful, stirring continuously and not adding more broth until the previous batch is mostly absorbed.  After adding 3 cups, taste the risotto for doneness.  The rice should be cooked but still firm--not mushy.  If it's too hard, keep adding broth until the proper tenderness is achieved.
5.  When the rice is fully cooked, stir in Parmesan, and add salt (at least 1/2 t.) and pepper to taste.  Stir in apples and soy sausage.  Cover the pot and let risotto rest for 2-3 minutes to warm the apples and soy sausage.  Stir the risotto and then spoon it into bowls and serve immediately.  Pass additional Parmesan for cheese freaks like me (and roomie).

If you want to fancy this up restaurant-style...
(1) prepare a balsamic syrup by reducing about 1/4 cup of a nice Balsamic with a few teaspoons of sugar over medium high, until the vinegar turns the consistency of a light syrup.  Add salt and sugar to taste if necessary.
(2) toast a few handfuls of slivered almonds until toasty brown.
(3) clean and dry a few bunches of arugula.

Plate a nice scoop of the risotto next to a handful of bright arugula.  Drizzle both with about a teaspoon of the Balsamic syrup; sprinkle with toasted almonds.  Win over the souls of your guests.