Monday night was typical, it was 5:30 and I had no idea what to make for dinner. Katie and I had just gotten home a short time ago, and I was mentally exhausted from running around all day. I’d been absently staring at the collard greens on the counter for about 15 minutes and had no clue what to do with them other than the fact that they needed to be used for dinner. I had picked them up Saturday with our CSA basket and by Tuesday they probably would have been chicken snacks, not that the girls would have minded. I had intended to make homemade noodles for dinner but given that it was late and I was hungry that wasn’t going to work. I hadn’t had time to make the noodles in the morning and then after Katie got off the bus, I had to take a ride to my dad’s and before coming home drop off a video at the library.
Ever since Katie was very little we’ve referred to the hours of 4 to 6 as the “witching hours,” the out-of-control, I-needed-a-nap-and-haven’t-had-one time when my patience is put to the ultimate test. Tonight was no different.
Fortunately my husband had taken some sausage out of the freezer the day before and never got around to using it so I had something besides the collards to work with. Since pasta was out and I didn’t have any potatoes that meant risotto, rice or couscous. I opted for risotto. Out came the pressure cooker and 20 minutes later dinner was served.
Collards and Sausage Risotto
Add chopped onion and a tablespoon or two of butter to pressure cooker and sauté until translucent. Add risotto and broth and bring up to pressure. Cook on medium pressure for 7 minutes. Let pressure reduce on its own.
While the risotto is cooking, add sausage to separate pan and cook through until no longer pink.
Wash and chop greens. Add to sausage with a bit of broth, cover and let cook until greens are bright and wilted. Add sausage and greens to risotto pot. Mix it all together and serve.
Organic collard greens. Photo: Fotolia.com/Brent Hofacker