Risotto alla pilota – Separate-Grain Rice with Mantuan Sausage and Grana Padano

Remove and discard the sausage casing and break the filling into small pieces. Measure out 50 g and 20 g of cheese separately. Have a heavy-bottomed saucepan about 20 cm in diameter, with a capacity of 2.5–3 l and a snug-fitting lid, and a skillet about 24–26 cm wide ready. Pour 480 ml water into the saucepan and add 2 g salt. Heat the remaining 100 ml water separately and keep covered as a hot reserve.

Bring the water in the saucepan to a boil. Pour all the rice into the center to form a small mound, then gently spread the grains across the bottom. Once the water returns to a boil, cook without a lid over medium-high heat for 8 minutes, stirring briefly and infrequently so the rice does not stick. Reduce the heat to its lowest setting, cover and cook for another 10–12 minutes. About every 4 minutes, briefly lift the lid and gently move the rice along the bottom. By the end, the water should be almost completely absorbed and the grains nearly tender, with a slight bite in the center. If the bottom is already dry but the rice is still distinctly hard, add a small amount of hot reserve water, keep the lid on and continue cooking for a few minutes longer. Use no more than the measured 100 ml reserve in total. Do not drain the rice and do not stir constantly as for a creamy risotto.

While the rice cooks, melt all the butter in the skillet over medium heat. Add the raw sausage filling and cook for about 12–15 minutes, breaking it into small crumbles with a spatula. Stir so the meat cooks evenly, becomes hot inside the crumbles and browns lightly; there should be no raw, sticky texture in the center. Cook longer if needed. If the butter starts to darken, lower the heat. Do not pour off the rendered fat. When the meat is cooked, keep it briefly over the lowest heat so it goes into the rice hot.

When the rice has absorbed the water and is nearly tender, take the saucepan off the burner. Add all the hot sausage with all the butter and fat from the skillet and stir gently. Set the saucepan on a trivet away from the burner. Cover the opening with a clean, dry kitchen towel, put on the lid and tuck the ends of the towel upward. Use the towel only during this off-heat rest. Leave for 8–10 minutes so the rice finishes cooking in the trapped steam. Do not heat the saucepan with the towel on it.

Remove the lid and towel. Gently separate the grains with a fork, add the measured 50 g Grana Padano and mix briefly, lifting the rice from the bottom. The dish should be hot, loose and tender, with a slight bite to the grains and without a liquid sauce. Taste and season with some or all of the remaining 2 g salt if needed. Divide the entire contents of the saucepan into 4 servings, sprinkle with the remaining 20 g cheese and serve immediately.