Sausage Risotto with Globe Artichoke

Clean the globe artichoke and set aside the softer sprouts. Bring a pot of water to the boil with a lemon slice and a bay leaf, then add the cleaned and chopped globe artichoke (not the sprouts) and cook for 40 minutes. Salt at the end of cooking. Remove the globe artichoke, reserving the cooking liquid. Blend half in a blender, then strain the resulting sauce through a sieve. Set aside and keep warm. Remove the sausage meat from its casing, crumble, and brown in a dry frying pan for 5 minutes, then add the chopped artichoke sprouts and brown a further 5 minutes. In a large saucepan, heat 3 1/2 tbsp butter, the remaining boiled and chopped artichoke, and half of the cooked sausage and artichoke mixture. After a few minutes, add the rice and toast for 1 minute. Begin adding the artichoke cooking liquid (if not enough, supplement with vegetable broth), bring to the boil and cook for 18 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining butter, the Grana Padano, and the reserved sauce, then top with the remaining sausage and artichoke mixture and serve immediately.