We’ve used a clever cheat here by making meatballs from sausage, cutting down prep time for this rustic risotto. Fresh cherry tomatoes and basil bring vibrancy, while a hint of chilli perks it all up for one-pan comfort cooking in under an hour.
Remove sausages from casings and roll into small meatballs.
Heat oil in a large frypan over medium heat. Add meatballs and cook, shaking pan, for 6–8 minutes or until browned all over and almost cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside. While the meatballs are cooking, finely chop onion and halve tomatoes.
Boil the kettle in preparation for step 4. Add onion to pan with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring, for 2–3 minutes or until softened. Add tomatoes and stir to combine. Add rice and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until well coated in mixture.
Dissolve stock cube in 750ml (3 cups) boiling water.
Add hot stock to pan, 250ml (1 cup) at a time, stirring continuously and allowing stock to be absorbed before adding the next cup, until all stock has been used, rice is al dente and mixture has thickened. This will take about 20 minutes. The rice should be creamy, but still retain some bite.
Pick basil leaves from their stems. In the last 5 minutes of cooking, add meatballs, parmesan, butter and chilli flakes. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with basil leaves to serve.