8-2-Eat: Spring Risotto

8-2-Eat is my food-focused list series. A perfect Friday distraction. Spring always puts me in the mood for risotto, the classic Italian rice dish that makes an ideal foundation for spring produce such as mushrooms, peas and asparagus. Below are 8 risotto recipes perfect for this season.

Risotto with Mushrooms, Sausage and Kale. If you're a risotto newbie, this simple combination is a great place to start.

Mushroom-Bacon Risotto. Another simple classic that will please the bacon lovers.

Roasted Vegetable Risotto Primavera. My most recent risotto, a dish inspired by the classic spring dish pasta primavera.

Pressure Cooker Spring Risotto

Cauliflower, Asparagus and Mushroom Risotto. This wonderful combination of flavors was inspired by a typo on Twitter in a conversation between me, New Morning Farm and Washington Post Food section editor Joe Yonan. You never know where a delicious idea will be born.

Pressure Cooker Spring Risotto. Want to speed up risotto? Try making it in a pressure cooker. You may be surprised at how good the results are.

Peas 3-Ways Risotto with Mint (shown at top). I love eating peas in the spring, and a good risotto is the perfect showcase for them.

Multi-Grain Risotto

Three-Peas Farro Risotto with Bacon. Riffing on the "peas 3-ways" theme again, this version features farro--a wheat grain--instead of the traditional rice.

Multi-Grain Risotto with Broccolini and Brussels Sprouts Expanding upon the non-rice risotto, this version is made with farro, barley and wheat berries supporting a beautiful combination of green vegetables.

Roasted Vegetable Risotto Primavera

Spring is finally here, and spring produce is already showing up in markets. Although there are joys year-round of eating seasonally, there's something about spring produce that fits the season so well. It's so green, so vibrant, so alive, after months of eating imported off-season produce and dried and canned goods during the winter.

I find risotto to be a particularly good vehicle for showing off spring produce, and I find I make the traditional dish of rice cooked in broth with vegetables and cheese most frequently from March to June.

I've shared several variations of pasta primavera, "primavera" meaning "spring" in Italian, usually denoting a dish made with seasonal spring vegetables like asparagus, peas and greens. The vegetables in this dish most closely resemble what I used in my first Pasta Primavera recipe, which was inspired by the primavera recipe in The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins.

I treat the vegetables in different ways here. Most of them--the red pepper, broccoli, carrot and squash--are roasted in the oven until lightly browned around the edges. The onion is sautéed and cooked with the rice and the sugar snap peas are lightly blanched in the broth. Everything is combined in the end with a generous helping of finely grated pecorino-romano, the hard-cheese alternative to parmigiano-reggiano that's perfect for spring dishes.

Roasted Vegetable Risotto Primavera

Note: Carnaroli rice is an Italian rice similar to arborio. Both are popular choices for risotto. Carnaroli rice has a higher starch content than arborio rice, is a bit longer and has a firmer texture.

1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 head of broccoli, cut into small florets (about 1-inch across)

2-3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice

1 yellow summer squash, cut into 1/2-inch dice

3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

6 cups vegetable or chicken broth (you can use a mixture and low-sodium or standard depending on your taste preference; for this dish I used 4 cups vegetable broth and 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth; if you use only vegetable broth, the dish will be vegetarian)

8 oz. sugar snap peas, peas larger than 1 inch cut in half

1 tbsp. unsalted butter

1 yellow onion, diced

1 1/2 cups carnaroli rice (may substitute arborio rice, see note above)

3/4 cup dry white wine (sauvignon blanc recommended)

2 oz. grated pecorino-romano cheese

Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste (recommend a generous "dash")

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 tbsp. freshly chopped dill

2 tbsp. freshly chopped chives

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.

2. Combine red pepper, broccoli, squash and carrot in a large bowl. Drizzle with 2 tbsp. of olive oil and salt and toss to coat. Spread vegetables in an even layer on baking sheet (line with aluminum foil for easier clean-up) and roast for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned. Stir the vegetables and continue roasting another 10 minutes until most vegetables are browned around the edges. Set aside while you make the risotto.

3. Heat vegetable broth in a large saucepan until boiling. Add the sugar snap peas and cook for 2-3 minutes until crisp-tender. Remove peas with a slotted spoon and set aside. Reduce the heat under the broth to the lowest setting.

4. Heat remaining tbsp. of olive oil and butter in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until softened, about 8-10 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly toasted, about 3-4 minutes. Add wine and stir to combine. Cook until the wine is absorbed by the rice (when running a spoon across the bottom of the pot leaves a dry space). Add 2 cups of chicken broth, stir to combine, and simmer over medium heat until the broth is absorbed. Then, continue adding broth by 1/2 cupfuls, stirring to combine, stirring occasionally as the mixture cooks and waiting between additions until the previous addition is absorbed by the rice. In total, this should take about 20-25 minutes. Taste the rice once about 5 cups of broth are incorporated, as it may be done before all the broth is used. The rice should be "al dente"--that is, cooked through but still a bit chewy.

5. Stir in the roasted vegetables, blanched sugar snap peas, pecorino-romano cheese, nutmeg, pepper, dill and chives. Serve in shallow bowls.

Asian Grain Stuffing

Bread stuffings are always popular at Thanksgiving. I'll admit they are my favorite thing to eat during the holiday. But some people may not prefer them or forgo them, such as the increasing number of gluten-free eaters.

For them, I offer this delicious alternative: the grain stuffing. It's just as flavorful as bread stuffing and versatile too.

This dish nicely melds traditional Thanksgiving and East Asian flavors. Ginger, garlic and shiitake mushrooms play nicely with butternut squash, sage and pecans.



Asian Grain Stuffing

2 cups of water
1 cup brown rice (or a mixture of other grains like wild rice and brown rice)
Pinch of salt
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 lb. mild Italian chicken sausage, removed from casings
1 sweet onion, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
5 oz. shiitake mushrooms, sliced into thin strips
1/4 cup pecans, chopped
2 tbsp. minced fresh sage
2 tbsp. minced fresh ginger
1 tbsp. minced fresh garlic
Pinch of red chili pepper flakes
4 tbsp. low-sodium tamari (or soy sauce)
2 tsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp. dark sesame oil
2 tsp. sugar
1 cup roasted cubed butternut squash (see note at bottom)
1/4 cup dried cranberries

1. Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the rice and salt, cover and reduce heat to simmer until the rice is cooked, about 40-45 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking the sausage up with a wooden spoon, until the sausage is cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on a paper-towel-lined plate. Chop any large pieces into smaller pieces.

3. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and increase heat to medium-high. Add onion, celery and carrot and sauté until softened and lightly browned, about 7-9 minutes. Remove from pan. Add a tablespoon of olive oil, then add the mushrooms, pecans, sage, ginger, garlic and red chili pepper flakes. Sauté until very fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Add the tamari, rice vinegar, sesame oil and sugar and stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium, then add in the cooked rice, sausage, onion mixture, butternut squash and dried cranberries. Stir to combine and reheat. Serve immediately.

Note: To roast butternut squash, preheat oven to 475 F. Toss 2 cups cubed butternut squash with 1 tbsp. olive oil and a pinch of salt and spread in an even layer on a baking sheet. Roast for 15 minutes, stir squash and roast an additional 15 to 20 minutes until cooked through and lightly browned. Set aside to cool.

Other Thanksgiving Recipes

Thanksgiving Central (all Thanksgiving recipes)

Rye Bread Stuffing

Classic 11-Ingredient Bread Stuffing

Southwestern Cornbread Stuffing

Italian Stuffing

Oregon Stuffing

Smoky Honey Chicken, Zucchini and Cashew Stir-Fry

Regular readers know that I love smoky flavors, and I'm always looking for new and interesting ways to work smoke into dishes (without using actual smoke, since I live in an apartment).

While we were in Rehoboth Beach last month, I discovered a wonderful new spice store there, The Spice & Tea Exchange. It has a wonderful collection of spices (and probably teas too--I'm not much of a tea drinker), including interesting chiles and even salts. Awhile ago I bought some smoked sea salt, but I've been dissatisfied with it. It doesn't really smell smoky, let alone taste like it. But the hickory-smoked sea salt I bought at Spice & Tea Exchange is incredibly smoky. I've started experimenting with it in different dishes, including sprinkling it on broiled salmon, where it lends the bit of smoke that's missing from not having grilled the salmon over coals.

Sweet-and-smoky is a combination that I find particularly fun to play with and which flavors the sauce in this easy stir-fry. Zucchini is good this time of year too, so I wanted to take advantage of that as well.

Smoky Honey Chicken, Zucchini and Cashew Stir-Fry

Makes 2-3 portions

1 lb. chicken breast cutlets pat dry with paper towels and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1-2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. arrowroot powder (may use cornstarch)
2 tbsp. vegetable oil (may use canola oil)
2-3 cups zucchini (green and yellow summer squash), cut into 1/4-inch coins
1/2 cup unsalted roasted cashews
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. minced ginger
6-8 scallions, divided into white and green parts, white part thinly sliced, green part sliced on an angle
Pinch (or two, as desired) of red chili pepper flakes
2 tbsp. low-sodium tamari (or low-sodium soy sauce)
1 tbsp. rice vinegar (may use white wine vinegar)
2 tbsp. honey
2 tsp. dark sesame oil
1/4 cup warm water
Cooked white or brown rice (for serving)
Black sesame seeds

1. Add the chicken to a bowl and sprinkle with arrowroot powder. Toss to lightly coat and set aside.

2. Heat 1 tbsp. vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a large sauté pan or frying pan until very hot, the oil should almost be smoking. Add the zucchini and sauté until lightly browned, stirring occasionally (but not constantly), about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

3. Add another 1 tbsp. oil to the pan. When hot, add the chicken, and sauté until browned, stirring occasionally for about 5-6 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside with the zucchini.

4. Add cashews to the pan and sauté a couple minutes until they start to brown a little bit, then add the garlic, ginger, white scallions and red chili pepper flakes and sauté about 30 seconds to a minute, stirring constantly, until fragrant.

5. Stir together the remaining 2 tsp. of arrowroot powder in a small bowl with the soy sauce, vinegar, honey, sesame oil and warm water. Add to the pan. When the mixture starts to bubble and thicken, reduce the heat to medium. Add back the sautéed zucchini and chicken and stir to combine with the sauce and heat through. Turn the heat off and add the chopped scallion greens. Serve over white or brown rice topped with a sprinkle of black sesame seeds.

Giant Stuffed Zucchini

See the vegetable pictured below? A coworker brought me one recently and asked me if I could identify what it is. Based on its color and the texture of its skin, I said "some kind of zucchini," which turned out to be right, although I'd never seen a large, round zucchini before. It makes sense they would exist though; zucchini is a type of squash, many of which are round and about this size (about the size of a typical acorn squash).

Giant round zucchini, next to iPhone for size comparison

I wanted to find a great way to prepare, something other than what you'd normally do with the cucumber-size zucchini. I decided I wanted to stuff and bake it. Turns out, this was a good thought, as the stuffed zucchini was really tasty.

I was worried the zucchini might get too soft, but it stayed quite firm, even after I pre-baked it to soften it a bit. Since getting the timing and temperature right for stuffed dishes to have the stuffing and that-which-is-stuffed both optimally cooked is very difficult, I partially cooked the zucchini ahead of time and also fully cooked the stuffing ingredients. The second baking then finishes cooking the zucchini while warming through the stuffing.

Giant Stuffed Zucchini

Makes 4 servings

2 giant round zucchini, washed, any protruding stem parts removed
Extra-virgin olive oil (for brushing or spraying on zucchini)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
8 oz. uncooked Italian chicken sausage, removed from casings
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 sweet onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
Red chili pepper flakes
1 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
1 tbsp. fresh chopped sage leaves
1 cup shredded gruyere cheese
1 cup fresh bread crumbs (see note)
1 cup cooked white rice (see recipe for perfect white rice)
1/4 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Note: To make fresh bread crumbs, cut the crust from a hunk of good bread and pulse in a food processor until ground to a coarse crumb.

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut each zucchini in half around the equator (so that the stem end is part of one half, and the non-stem end is the other half). Scoop out and discard the seeds and other soft inside parts (this will leave a shell about 1/2-inch thick). Spray or brush the cut side of each zucchini with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool (may be refrigerated if making ahead of time).

2. Heat a large sauté pan or frying pan over medium heat. Add the sausage and sauté until cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on a paper-towel-lined plate. Add olive oil to pan. When hot, add the onion, red pepper and garlic. Season to taste with salt and a pinch of red chili pepper flakes. After about 5 minutes, add the thyme and sage, then sauté for about another 5 minutes until the vegetables are softened and the herbs are fragrant. Combine with the cooked sausage and set aside. At this point, the sausage-vegetable mixture may be cooled and refrigerated if making this ahead of time.

3. Reheat oven to 350 F. Place the pre-baked zucchini halves on a rimmed baking sheet, cut-side up. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of the sausage-vegetable mixture with the shredded gruyere cheese, bread crumbs and cooked rice. Stuff about 1/4 of the mixture in the cavity of each zucchini half, leaving the stuffing slightly mounded. Spoon 1 tbsp. of grated parmesan on the top of each mound of stuffing and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Bake in the oven until the mixture is warmed through and lightly browned on top, about 35-45 minutes. Serve warm.

Peas 3-Ways Risotto with Mint

Three-ways can be a little controversial. Take, for example, the recent three-way between Pamela, John Ross and Emma on Dallas, which got tongues wagging. Well, this three-way is sure to get your tongue wagging too, but in a different way.

English peas have to be shelled first. You end up with about half as much peas by weight as you get with peas in the pod, so plan accordingly.

This risotto features three different types of peas: the basic English variety, which I've pureed, sugar snap peas, which are blanched and stirred into the cooked rice, and sautéed pea shoots (also sometimes called pea tendrils). All three types came from New Morning Farm, my neighborhood farmers market that I'm getting an even deeper appreciation for as I read the farmer's son's memoir, A Farm Dies Once a Year.

Sautéing the pea shoots

I also got to use some fresh spearmint from my garden. When I originally planted the mint in April, I put it in the same pot as a peppermint plant. This turned out to be a mistake. After a few weeks, the spearmint looked pretty unhappy, turning a dull shade of green with some brown spots. I repotted the spearmint so that it had its own, larger pot, and what a difference. Now the plant is vibrant green and growing steadily. Definitely going to be time for mojitos soon.

This is a pretty simple and adaptable recipe. To make it vegetarian, substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth. You could even make it vegan by omitting the cheese and using only olive oil instead of butter.

Adding the pea puree to the risotto.

Peas 3-Ways Risotto with Mint

4 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 yellow onion, diced
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
3/4 cup dry white wine (I used a Chenin Blanc/Viognier blend)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Pinch of ground nutmeg
1 lb. sugar snap peas, ends trimmed and peas cut in half
5 oz. shelled English peas (about 10 oz. unshelled)
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 oz. pea shoots
Pinch of red chili pepper flakes
3 tbsp. fresh chopped spearmint
1 cup grated pecorino romano cheese

1. Warm the chicken broth in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.

2. Heat butter in a Dutch oven or large sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until softened, about 10 minutes. Add rice and cook until lightly toasted, stirring occasionally, about 3-4 minutes. Add wine and stir to combine. Cook until the wine is absorbed by the rice (when running a spoon across the bottom of the pot leaves a dry space). Add 2 cups of chicken broth, stir to combine, and simmer over medium heat until the broth is absorbed. Then, continue adding broth by 1/2 cupfuls, stirring to combine and waiting between additions until the previous addition is absorbed by the rice. In total, this should take about 20-25 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Reduce heat to low to keep warm.

3. While the rice cooks, prepare the peas. Bring a large saucepan to boil over medium-high heat. Add the sugar snap peas and cook for 2 minutes. Remove peas from the boiling water and transfer to an ice-water bath. Add the English peas and cook for 2 minutes. Transfer the cooked English peas to a tall container, add about 1/2 cup of warm water and puree with an immersion blender (alternatively, transfer to a food processor and process until pureed).

4. Heat olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add pea shoots, season with salt and red chili pepper flakes, and cook until wilted and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

5. Stir the pea puree and cooked snap peas into the risotto, along with the fresh mint and grated pecorino romano. Serve the risotto in shallow bowls topped with sautéed pea shoots.

Cauliflower, Asparagus and Mushroom Risotto

I've found inspiration for recipes from unexpected sources such as a novel, a television show and movies, but this is the first recipe inspired by a Twitter typo.

Most Wednesdays, I post a regular feature I call The Feed, a collection of food-related stories from the past week that I thought were particularly interesting. To generate interest in the post and the included stories, I usually send a few tweets highlighting some of the stories.

Last Wednesday, I included in The Feed Washington Post Food editor Joe Yonan's story on Chicken-Fried Cauliflower and NPR writer Dan Charles' story about asparagus. While I meant to tweet that Charles shared asparagus trivia, for whatever brain-dead reason I wrote, "@nprDanCharles shares asparagus cauliflower." Yes, "asparagus cauliflower." I was about to delete the tweet and correct it when New Morning Farm, my neighborhood farmers market, retweeted what I wrote, leading to an exchange between me, New Morning Farm and Joe Yonan about what to call this possibly amazing hybrid vegetable (we settled on "asparaflower") and Joe's great suggestion that it was "risotto time."

Thus was born this spring risotto. Last Saturday, I paid New Morning Farm a visit. While they didn't have asparagus or cauliflower that day, they did have a great selection of mushrooms, which I decided to use both as ingredients in the risotto and its broth to add earthiness. I selected cremini and shiitake mushrooms. I decided to roast the cauliflower, since I love it that way, but to keep the asparagus pretty green, adding it toward the end so it cooks gently. I also used the tougher asparagus ends that I normally discard for flavoring the broth. Although I could have used parmigiano-reggiano cheese for this, I instead went with pecorino romano, which I particularly like with brighter vegetable-based dishes.

Roasted Cauliflower, Asparagus and Mushroom Risotto

1 head of cauliflower, leaves removed, cored and cut into 1-inch florets
2 tbsp. olive oil
Pinch of kosher salt
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 cup diced yellow or sweet onion
6-8 cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 cups arborio rice
1 tbsp. chopped fresh sage
Dash of ground nutmeg
1 cup dry white wine (such as sauvignon blanc)
6-7 cups mushroom-vegetable broth (see recipe below)
1 bunch of asparagus (about 1 lb.), rough ends removed (reserve the rough ends for the broth), stalks cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup finely grated pecorino romano
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Add cauliflower to a large bowl, drizzle with olive and a pinch of kosher salt and toss to coat with oil. Spread florets on a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes. Stir to turn florets and roast for another 20 to 25 minutes until browned and tender. Set aside.

2. Heat butter in a Dutch oven or large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms and cook another 3 minutes. Stir in the rice and cook another 2 to 3 minutes until the rice is lightly roasted. Add the sage and nutmeg and season with salt and pepper and cook just about another minute. Add the wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has been absorbed by the rice. Add 2 cups of broth and cook, stirring occasionally, until the broth has mostly been absorbed, then add another 1/2 cup of broth. Repeat adding broth by the 1/2 cup and cooking until mostly absorbed until the rice is cooked through but still a little chewy (i.e. al dente). Stir in the chopped asparagus with the last addition of broth and continue cooking another 5 minutes. This usually takes about 30 minutes and you may not use all of the broth (I used a little more than 6 cups). Turn off the heat. Stir in the cheese and half the parsley. Serve the risotto in bowls topped with an additional sprinkle of parsley.

Mushroom-Vegetable Broth

Yields about 7 cups of broth

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
6-8 cremimi mushrooms, coarsely chopped
6-8 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps chops
2 tsp. dried or fresh thyme
8 cups water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Rough ends from 1 bunch (about 1 lb.) asparagus

Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or stock pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, mushrooms and thyme. Season with salt and pepper and sauté until lightly browned. Add water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-lower and simmer for 30 minutes. Add asparagus ends and simmer another 30 minutes. Strain out the vegetable solids.

Best of 2013: Pasta and Grains

Top L to R: Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce, Sweet Corn Agnolotti with Mushrooms, Parsley Pesto Spaghetti. Middle L to R: Modernist Mac & Cheese with Bacon and Roasted Cauliflower, Roasted Tomato Risotto, Bolognese-Style Lasagna. Bottom L to R: Farro Bowl with Sugar Snap Peas and Kielbasa, Sausage-Zucchini Pasta, Multi-Grain Risotto with Broccolini and Brussels Sprouts.

My lists of the year's best cocktails and salads, soups, starters and sides were pretty lengthy. For my favorite pasta and grain recipes, I decided to limit myself to my 10 favorites, which are a great mix of styles, original and adapted recipes and ingredients from all the seasons.

1. Modernist Mac & Cheese with Bacon and Roasted Cauliflower. I adapted this recipe from Modernist Cuisine at Home by Nathan Myhrvold. Their technique for the cheese sauce is so simple and works very well: just water and sodium citrate (the sodium salt of citric acid, available from Amazon). The sauce is amazingly smooth and comes together much faster than the traditional roux-to-béchamel-to-mornay version.

2. Butternut Squash, Goat Cheese and Sausage Lasagna. This alternative to tomato-based lasagna is one of my absolute favorites. It's perfect for fall when squash are in season, which go so well with goat cheese, sage and sausage.

3. Roasted Tomato Risotto. What makes this risotto special is the homemade roasted tomato and fennel broth I made first and used instead of store-bought chicken or vegetable broth for cooking the risotto, which includes additional roasted tomatoes.

4. Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce. During the late summer, when tomatoes are in season, we eat massive quantities of them. One of my favorite ways to do so is a simple, quick pasta sauce with fresh basil.

5. Lasagna, Bolognese Style. This was the first dish I ever made from a recipe by lauded Italian cookbook writer Marcella Hazan, who, sadly, passed away this year. If you're used to the tomato-ricotta version of lasagna, this version, made with bolognese and béchamel is a nice change of pace. (After Hazan's death, I also made her Pasta all'Amatriciana, which is also amazing.)

6. Sweet Corn Agnolotti with Mushrooms. Admittedly, recreating Mike Isabella's very popular Graffiato pasta dish is a lot of work. So, if you're in the mood for an intensive cooking project, feel free to tackle this. Despite the effort, the result is a very rewarding dish with amazing sweet corn flavor.

7. Multi-Grain Risotto with Broccolini and Brussels Sprouts. Who says risotto has to be rice? This multi-grain version, adapted from a recipe that appeared in The Washington Post, uses farro, wheat berries and barley.

8. Farro Bowl with Sugar Snap Peas and Kielbasa. Speaking of farro, the quick-cooking whole grain is the perfect base in this summery dish with sugar snap peas, turkey kielbasa and mint.

9. Parsley Pesto Spaghetti. This Bon Appétit recipe is as basic as pasta recipes get, although isn't that often when they're best? The magazine selected my photo among their "Cook the Cover" submissions (mine is #2).

10. Sausage-Zucchini Pasta. Vegan sausage? Normally, I wouldn't be interested. But at a friend's urging, I gave the Field Roast brand a try in this pasta dish and was pleasantly surprised at how well it stood up to the other ingredients in this dish.

Honorable mention: Okay, I just can't limit this to 10. And since the Pasta all'Amatriciana snuck in up there at #5 anyway, I'm not going to flinch in also sharing this Mushroom-Bacon Risotto, a perfect late winter dish to warm yourself on a cold night.

Fall Grain Pilaf with Sweet Potatoes

It's not November yet, but I've got Thanksgiving on my mind already. Perhaps it's because I've been testing dishes to write about next month. I promise not to start deluging you with Thanksgiving-themed content this month. Yes, this pilaf, with its basis in stuffing tip-toes up to the line. But it doesn't cross it! I wouldn't serve this at Thanksgiving. All the more reason to enjoy it ahead of time.

The idea behind this pilaf is the flavors of a good stuffing but with grains instead of bread. Any mix of quicker-cooking grains (i.e. not wheat berries) could be good. I used a mix of brown rice, wild rice and quinoa.

The sweet potatoes could be pre-cooked either in the microwave or roasted in the oven.

Fall Grain Pilaf with Sweet Potatoes

1 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup rice or a blend of grains, such as brown and wild rices and quinoa
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 sweet onion, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tbsp. chopped fresh sage
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1 cup cooked sweet potato, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1. Bring chicken broth to boil in a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Add grains, cover, reduce heat to low and cook for 25 minutes (cooking time may need adjustment, depending on the grain used). Remove from heat, place a clean kitchen cloth over the mouth of the pan and cover again. Let sit for 10 minutes, then remove the lid and towel and fluff grains with a fork.

2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and celery, season with salt and pepper, and saute until softened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add sage, stir to combine and cook another minute until fragrant. Reduce heat to low. Add pecans, cranberries and cooked sweet potato, cooking over low heat until heated through. Combine with cooked grains and serve immediately.

Caramel Chicken

This recipe, from the latest issue of Bon Appétit, is how I discovered the amazing rice I wrote about yesterday. This dish is also very good: like the best homemade version of General Tso's Chicken you've ever had. Except not deep-fried.

Although not in the original recipe, I recommend spiking it a bit with a pinch of red chili pepper flakes if you want a little heat.

Caramel Chicken
Adapted from Bon Appétit

2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I substituted this from the recipe's original bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs)
Salt, to taste
8 garlic cloves, peeled
1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
Pinch of red chili pepper flakes (optional, if you want the heat)
2 tsp. minced fresh ginger
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Cooked white rice (for serving, see Bon Appetit's incredible rice recipe I discussed yesterday)

1. Heat oil in a large pot (such as an enamel-coated Dutch oven) over medium-high heat. Pat chicken pieces dry with a paper towel, season with salt and, working in two batches, cook in the oil until golden brown and crisp, about 6 to 8 minutes per side. Transfer partially cooked chicken to a plate (it will finish cooking later).

2. Add garlic to pot and cook, stirring frequently, until golden, less than 2 minutes. Transfer to the plate with the chicken. Remove excess fat from the pat.

3. Add 1/2 cup water to pot and use a wooden spoon to scrape browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add brown sugar and stir to dissolve. Cook mixture, stirring frequently, until it thickens and turns a deep amber color (Bon Appétit's recipe said this would take about 4 minutes, but it took me a lot longer--like 10 to 15. I recommend watching it carefully, since it could burn easily once it thickens).

4. Stir in the vinegar (it may sputter a bit) and continue stirring to dissolve any sugar the vinegar may re-crystallize. If using red chili pepper flakes, add those now. Stir in the ginger, broth and soy sauce.

5. Return chicken to the pot, increase heat to bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer gently until the chicken is fully cooked, about 20 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate.

6. Bring cooking liquid to a boil and cook until thickened, about 10 minutes. Return chicken to pot and stir to coat with the sauce. Serve chicken over cooked rice and topped with fresh chopped scallions.

Perfect White Rice

Do you ever find a recipe for something simple that just blows your mind because it's done so well? That how I feel about the Perfect Pot of Rice recipe from Bon Appétit, which is hands down the best technique I've ever used for making rice at home without a rice cooker. It's another great example of how the conventional wisdom isn't always right.

So let's talk about that conventional wisdom: Most recipes for boiling rice will tell you to employ a 2-to-1 ratio of water to rice, so, typically, you might use 2 cups of water for 1 cup of dried rice, resulting in about 3 cups of cooked rice. For flavor, you might add a little butter, salt or both. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover, reduce heat to lower and cook on a low simmer for about 25 minutes. Uncover and fluff with a fork.

The results are fine, but never really great. There's usually a little moisture left in the bottom of the pot. The grains are cooked but a little soggy. It works fine as a base for a stir-fry, but it's not something you'd probably want to sit there and eat by itself.

This rice I could eat all day. The texture was perfect. Toothy, like al dente pasta, but definitely cooked through. Not at all soggy. Not "sticky" like Chinese rice either. It was really quite impressive.

Perfect White Rice
Adapted from a recipe by Bon Appétit

1 cup long-grain white rice
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups water

1. Add ingredients in a 2-3 quart heavy saucepan that has a tight-fitting lid and swirl to combine (do not stir). Turn on the heat and bring to a boil. Cover pot, reduce heat to low and cook for 18 minutes (do not remove lid during this time).

2. Remove from heat. Uncover and place a clean kitchen towel over the the pan then recover (so the towel acts as a barrier between the lid and the rice in the pot). Let rice stand covered like this for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove lid and towel and fluff rice with a fork. Serve immediately or refrigerate for later.

Roasted Tomato Risotto

Roasting tomatoes is one of my favorite ways to bring out the summer staple's deep flavors. I thought they might make an interesting risotto, but recipes I found online tend to be just a regular chicken stock risotto with some roasted tomatoes stirred in at the end. I wanted my risotto to have bolder tomato flavor.

Roasting summer tomatoes brings out their depth of flavor, perfect for making a rich vegetable broth.

Inspired by the Washington Post’s recent article on DIY vegetable broths, I decided to make roasted tomato broth and use that as the liquid for my risotto. The resulting dish was a rich and creamy risotto—without the need for cream or butter—with a delicious tomato flavor.

In addition to roasted tomatoes, I used fennel, onion, garlic and herbs to flavor my vegetable broth.

Roasted Tomato Risotto

Makes about 5-6 servings

3 lb. ripe red tomatoes, cut into 1 to 2 inch chunks
4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Salt, to taste
2 large sweet onions, 1 roughly chopped, the other diced
1 fennel bulb, chopped with fennel fronds
1 bunch (about 8-10 sprigs) fresh summer savory (may substitute fresh thyme)
8 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
10 cups water
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 ½ cup Arborio rice
¾ cup white wine, dry or slightly sweet (I used Pine Ridge Viognier-Chenin Blanc)
½ cup grated parmigiano-reggiano
8-10 large fresh basil leaves, torn by hand into 1-inch pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Toss cut tomatoes with 2 tbsp. of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Roast for 3 hours, stirring at each hour mark. Let tomatoes cool and store in the refrigerator until ready to use (be sure to keep the tomatoes and any juices in the pan).

2. Chop ½ cup of the roasted tomatoes (about ¼ of the total) and set aside. Add the remaining roasted tomatoes to a Dutch oven or other large pot along with the fennel, 1 roughly chopped sweet onion, garlic cloves, summer savory, 2 tsp. salt, freshly ground black pepper to taste, and 10 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to simmer for about 2 hours. Strain the mixture with a metal sieve, using a wooden spoon to squeeze moisture out of the vegetables (especially the tomatoes). This should yield about 8 to 9 cups of broth. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use. (note: This is twice as much as you’ll likely need for the risotto).

3. Heat tomato-vegetable broth in a medium saucepan and keep warm over low heat (do not boil it).

4. Heat 2 tbsp. olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add diced onion and sauté until softened but not browned, about 10 minutes. Add rice, stir to combine and continue cooking another 5 minutes to lightly toast the rice. Add wine and stir frequently until the wine is absorbed. Add 2 cups of broth and cook, stirring frequently, until the broth is absorbed (broth is absorbed when mixture doesn’t immediately cover bottom of pan when you scrape the spoon against the bottom). Add 2 more cups of broth in ½ cup increments, stirring frequently and waiting to add the next ½ cup until the previous one is absorbed. At this point, the rice should have expanded a bit but is still al dente. Stir in the reserved ½ cup chopped roasted tomatoes, parmigiano-reggiano cheese and torn basil leaves. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve in shallow bowls.

Pressure Cooker Spring Risotto

When I was a kid, my mom sometimes cooked with a pressure cooker, and I was always thankful the kitchen was still intact when she was done. It was a noisy scary thing, with a little metal top that jiggled constantly like the whole thing could burst at any moment.

Fagor Duo 10 Quart pressure cooker. It's a lot less scary than old models I remember from my childhood.

My pressure cooker, which I got for my birthday this year, is nothing like that. The Fagor Duo 10-Quart pressure cooker is quiet with no movement apart from a gentle flow of steam. The instructions assured me there are multiple safety features to prevent an explosion. All in all, it feels quite safe and I was quite pleased with its inaugural dish: a spring risotto.

Getting the texture of risotto just right is important, and I was skeptical whether a pressure cooker could do it. The grains of rice need to be al dente, like pasta: cooked through but still chewy. After sweating the aromatic vegetables and briefly toasting the grains, would I open the device a few minutes later to find mush?

Thankfully no. The texture of the rice was spot on. It was really quite good. And instead of stirring the broth in over the course of half an hour or so--stirring frequently--the cooking time once the liquid was added (all at once) was just 7 minutes, less than a third of the usual time.

As for selecting a pressure cooker, I chose mine for several reasons. I opted for a stovetop model over an electric one, since it allows you to use the pot for sautéing and browning, whereas an electric model requires a separate pan for that. I chose a 10-quart model since a larger pressure cooker is more versatile (I could do canning in this one if I chose to). America's Test Kitchen also highly rates Fagor.

Pressure Cooker Spring Risotto

3 oz. pancetta, diced
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium (or 2 small) yellow onion, diced
1 fennel bulb, cored and diced
Salt, to taste
2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used Vitiano 2012 verdicchio/vermentino blend)
1 cup frozen (or fresh) peas
2 cups loosely packed baby spinach leaves
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup grated pecorino-romano cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives (half reserved)

1. Heat pressure cooker pan over medium heat. Add pancetta and cook until lightly browned. Remove from pan. Add olive oil. When hot, add onion, fennel and salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add rice and cooked until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes more. Add wine and stir until absorbed, a couple minutes.

2. Add peas, spinach and broth and stir to combine. Close and lock the lid. Set the cooker to high pressure (15 PSI). When the pan reaches pressure, lower the heat and cook for 7 minutes (follow your pressure cooker's instructions for achieving high pressure and setting the temperature, as they may vary by model and will vary depending on whether you use a gas or electric range).

3. Use a quick-release cold water method to subside pressure and open the cooker. Stir in the grated cheese. Serve in bowls topped with fresh chives.

Mushroom-Bacon Risotto

Besides beans, another winning partner for bacon is mushrooms; their earthiness pairs nicely with bacon’s smoky saltiness. I’m offering two recipes today that bring this pair into focus, the Risotto below and a pasta (Trofie with Bacon and Mushrooms). This hearty risotto is a perfect for these days of waning winter.

Mushroom-Bacon Risotto

3/4 oz. package of dried chanterelle mushrooms, reconstituted according to package directions and patted dry with broth kept (about 1 cup of liquid)
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 lb. thick-cut bacon, cut into strips no wider than 1/4 inch (for this dish, I used black forest bacon from Whole Foods)
1/2 large sweet onion (or 1 small), diced
8 oz. cremini mushrooms, stems discarded and caps thinly sliced
8 oz. shiitake mushroom, stems discarded and caps thinly sliced
Salt, to taste
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 3/4 cup arborio rice
3/4 cup dry vermouth (I used a combination of vermouth and Lillet Blanc, since my vermouth bottle was almost empty)
1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano
Fresh-ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1. Combine the mushroom broth from reconstituting the chanterelles with the chicken broth and warm in a saucepan over low heat.

2. Heat a dutch oven over medium heat. Cook the bacon until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to paper towel-lined plates. Remove bacon fat leaving 1 tbsp.

3. Add onion to dutch oven and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until they give up their liquid and reduce in size, about 10-12 minutes (may take longer, depending on moisture--pan should be mostly dry when done). Season with salt. Add butter and rice and cook until rice turns translucent, about 3 minutes.

4. Add vermouth and cook until absorbed, stirring frequently, about 2-3 minutes. Add 2 cups of broth and cook, stirring infrequently until liquid is absorbed. Add 1/2 cup of broth and continue cooking, stirring frequently and adding 1/2 cup of broth after each previous addition is absorbed, about 12-15 minutes total. Taste rice for doneness (should be “toothy” like al dente pasta). Stir in cooked bacon and parmesan. Season to taste with fresh-ground black pepper. Serve rice in bowls topped with fresh parsley.

Bulgogi with Vegetables

Bulgogi, the savory-sweet Korean beef dish, is as popular as ever these days. Although usually grilled, bulgogi can be made in a skillet if winter cold or lack of equipment forces you into the kitchen.

This dish calls for using kiwi to tenderize the beef. It's unclear to me whether tenderizing is really necessary if you're using ribeye, but it adds a nice flavor to the marinade.

I found this recipe years ago on Epicurious and have made little tweaks to it. I no longer serve it with the side sauce, as I find the cooked sauce provides plenty of flavor. I’ve also added vegetables to the dish. Although some may find that sacrilege, when you consider that bulgogi is now showing up in noodle soup dishes and even tacos, it doesn’t seem that outrageous.

Bulgogi with Vegetables
Adapted from Dok Suni: Recipes from My Mother's Korean Kitchen by Jenny Kwak and Liz Fried

Makes 2 servings

1 lb. rib eye steak, thinly sliced
1/2 fresh kiwi, peeled, minced and muddled
1 tbsp. light brown sugar
Fresh ground black pepper
1 tbsp. canola oil
1 sweet onion, halved and sliced into strips about an inch long and 1/4-inch wide
1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips about an inch long and 1/4-inch wide

1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. dark sesame oil
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp. rice vinegar

Sesame seeds

1. Cut the fat off the steak and slice very thinly—about 1/8-inch thick (put the steak in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes before slicing). Add to a medium bowl with the kiwi and brown sugar. Massage mixture to juice the kiwi and mix with the meat. Set aside to marinate about 10 minutes.

2. Heat 2 tsp. canola oil a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and red pepper and stir fry until they are a little browned, about 6-8 minutes. Remove from pan.

3. Add the last tsp. of canola oil to pan. When hot, add the beef mixture and stir fry until the meat is cooked to the desired doneness (I recommend not cooking it until it is all brown, since that will make it tough). Return the cooked vegetables to the pan to heat. Combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, vinegar and black pepper and add to mixture. Cook another couple minutes until sauce has reduced a bit, stirring to coat evenly. Serve on plates with rice topped with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Best of 2012: Pasta, Gnocchi and Rice

Pasta is one of the things I like to make most. It’s quick and forgiving, making it ripe for experimentation. My favorite pasta recipes from the year highlight a variety of seasonal flavors, like the Spring Pasta with Asparagus and Snap Peas, the summery Extra Fresh Pasta with Ricotta and Roasted Tomato Sauce and Orecchiette with Roasted Brussels Sprouts, which I made in the spring but would be perfect for fall. The latter two recipes include homemade pasta; easier to make than you might think and worth the extra effort. One dish I made over and over was Tomatoes Two Ways Pasta, which features the bright flavor of fresh ripe tomatoes stirred into the sauce at the end to cook up just a bit and tomatoes that have been slowly roasted in the oven to develop depth of flavor.

A dish that’s good any time of year is Macaroni & Cheese, which I presented in a traditional style, a corn pudding-inspired Macorny and Cheese and a dressed-up Truffled Mushroom Mac & Cheese.

Homemade pasta is wonderful, but the store-bought dried version is good too. With gnocchi though, you really ought to go homemade. This Gnocchi with Sausage-Mushroom Ragu surrounds the pillowy potato dumplings in a rich, savory sauce flavored with sage.

Rice is an ingredient I’d like to do more with next year (I have my eye on paella). My favorite rice treatment is risotto, the classic Italian dish that sometimes gets a bad reputation for requiring lots of stirring (you have to stir it, but there are lots of dishes that require stirring, so it’s really no different). Corn Risotto offers a lighter take on what can be a heavy dish if it’s smothered with too much cheese and cream.

Pesto Risotto with Roasted Zucchini

The night I made Pasta with Pesto, I developed a backup plan to make risotto with pesto. And since I'd put so much thought into it, I decided to try it out too.

Why a backup plan? That afternoon, I'd asked Chris to pick up the pasta from the store on his way home. When he arrived--clearly grateful to be home--I didn't see a grocery bag. Rather than ask about it, and risk sending him back out to get it, I decided instead that I could make risotto with pesto, which would be just as satisfying as pasta. As it was, the grocery bag was in his backpack, but I still though risotto with pesto could be interesting.

Rice and pesto by itself begged for something else as a highlight. Isa Chandra of Post Punk Kitchen has this recipe for risotto with roasted zucchini, which I thought could be interesting.  She roasted her zucchini for 12 minutes, but I did mine for a lot longer, about 25-30. Might just be my oven, but I wanted it a little brown, and it was nowhere near that at 12 minutes. This dish was great, but I think it could be even better with some additional flavors, such as bacon and toasted walnuts.

Pesto Risotto with Roasted Zucchini

2 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
3/4 cup dry white wine (sauvignon blanc)
4 cups chicken broth (possibly less)
Salt and pepper, to taste
About 1 cup pesto (all the pesto from this Basic Pesto recipe)
3 zucchini, sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.

2. In a large dutch oven or deep-sided sauté pan, heat butter and 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in the rice and continuing cooking to lightly toast rice, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the wine and cook, stirring frequently, until it is absorbed (the bottom of the pan will be dry when the rice is pulled away with a spoon). Add 2 cups of corn broth to rice and cook, stirring frequently, until the broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth, about 1/2 cup at a time, waiting to add additional broth until each addition is fully absorbed. After about 2 cups more have been added (4 cups total). Taste rice--dish is done when the rice has the consistently of al dente pasta, which you may achieve before all 4 cups of broth are added (last time I made it, it took 3 1/2 cups). Do not overcook. Stir in pesto.

4. Once oven is hot, while risotto is cooking, roast zucchini: In a 9 x 9 baking dish, toss zucchini with 1 tbsp. olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast until tender and lightly browned, about 25-30 minutes.

5. Serve risotto in bowls topped with roasted zucchini.