Sausage, Mozzarella and Broccolini Baked Pasta

Photo from MarthaStewart.com

I have been so lazy about taking photos lately that we will just have to enjoy this very well composed photo from Martha Stewart. 

After taking over a month off from cooking, it has been a little difficult to get back into the swing of things. It doesn't help that we are still doing work in the kitchen, so utensils and produce are scattered around the house. 

I love baked pastas because they are comforting and usually reheat well for lunch the next day. This recipe from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine was great. The original recipe calls for broccoli rabe, but neither MM nor I like its bitter flavor. I substituted broccolini because it is the same shape and it worked perfectly. I baked the pasta in two 8-inch ceramic bakers for about 20 minutes.

Creamy Orecchiette with Bacon and Peas

This dish was inspired by the traditional Italian pasta dish Farfalle with Prosciutto and Peas, which has always been one of my favorites. I was consciously trying to use up items in the fridge, freezer and pantry, and was pleasantly surprised by the results. I love recipes that are adaptable to whatever ingredients you have on hand, but that still retain elements of the original that made it great in the first place. This dish is a perfect marriage of salty crisp bacon, chewy pasta, and delightful green peas that pop when you bite into them, all held together in a creamy sauce.

Creamy Orecchiette with Bacon and Peas
Serves 3

6 slices center cut bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 lb orecchiette
1 onion, diced
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 oz mascarpone
4 oz heavy cream
handful flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the bacon until crisp; transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.

2. Meanwhile, heat a large pot of water to a boil. Salt generously. Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water.

3. Return the skillet with bacon grease to medium heat. Cook the onions until soft and starting to caramelize, about 10 minutes. Stir in the peas; heat for 1 minute and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the mascarpone and heavy cream and heat until the mascarpone melts. Add the pasta. (I felt like the sauce was a little thick at this point, so I added a little of the pasta water.)

4. Remove from the heat and stir in the bacon and parsley. Taste for seasoning and serve.

Orecchiette with Sausage, Beans and Mascarpone

I have made this recipe of Giada's many times and unfortunately, this time around it wasn't as good as I remember. It certainly wasn't bad, but something was a little off. The recipe is in her cookbook, Giada's Kitchen and available on the Food Network. I can never find fresh turkey sausage, so I always buy pork.

Bacon, Arugula and Tomato Pasta

Kind of like a BLT...

We had bought a package of baby arugula for another version of lentil soup I had planned to make last week, but the weather has been so mild here in DC that soup just doesn't sound appealing. There was also a partially used package of bacon lurking in the fridge and I thought, if I add a can of diced tomatoes to these two ingredients, we practically have a BLT! I threw a little bit of ricotta salata on top and a delicious pasta dish was born.

Bacon, Arugula and Tomato Pasta
Serves 4

Ingredients

3/4 lb fusilli (penne would also work well)
1/2 lb bacon, cut into half inch pieces
1 onion, diced
15 oz can diced tomatoes, not drained
2 tablespoons heavy cream (I was just trying to use this up, you could certainly omit it)
5 oz container baby arugula
4 oz ricotta salata or other cheese (cubed fresh mozzarella would be great)

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil; salt generously. Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water.

2. Meanwhile, cook the bacon over medium heat in a large skillet. When it is crisp, remove with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Add the onion to the bacon fat and cook until soft, 5-7 minutes.

3. Add the tomatoes with their juice to the onion; season with salt and pepper. Gently simmer for a couple minutes and then stir in the heavy cream. Reduce the heat to low.

4. Transfer the cooked pasta and the arugula to the skillet. Toss to combine and wilt the arugula. Add the ricotta salata and stir. If it is a little dry, add some of the pasta water. Taste for seasoning.

Baked Tortellini with Bacon

The good news is that Marshal Mike is back from Afghanistan and I can start planning dinners for the week and cook for more than one person! The bad news is that I chose this lackluster beige dish for the first meal.

I was going through my old December food magazines and found this recipe in Everyday Food's December 2010 issue. At first glance, it should be really good: bacon, cheese and pasta; how could that be bad? Well, it wasn't a total failure, but it wasn't something I would make again. We decided that it needed more bacon (the recipe calls for 4 slices), and a hit of parsley at the end for some freshness.

We can only go up from here!

Spaghetti with Bacon and Tomatoes

Bacon was on sale a couple weeks ago, so I bought a package with no real purpose in mind. (Let's be honest, do you really need a purpose when buying bacon?!) This weekend I decided it was about time I did something with it.

I found a great recipe for pasta with bacon and tomatoes from Lidia Bastianich on Epicurious. The recipe calls for bucatini or another long pasta with a hold in the middle, but I didn't feel like going out to find that kind of pasta, so I used spaghetti. I usually don't like long pastas but it definitely works with this sauce. I halved her recipe, as I never end up finishing all the leftovers, and it worked out just fine.

One thing I really love about Lidia Bastianich is the way she tells stories. This recipe is a great example: the headnote is historically interesting, helpful with ingredients and gives the reader just enough personal information to feel like Lidia is in your kitchen teaching you to cook. Even her recipe is written like a story and not just as steps, as most recipes. You can feel how much she loves sharing Italian culture and food with readers, and we get to reap the rewards!

Sausage and Fennel Ragu

I am not going to lie - my first trip to the grocery store after my CSA had ended was pretty exciting. I was craving fennel like it was my job; into the cart! The cauliflower looked great; join the fennel in the cart! Sweet potatoes are on sale; excellent, into the cart! I also haven't been eating much meat, and was kind of craving it, so I picked up a half a pound of sweet Italian sausage. This ragu from The Kitchn was the perfect thing to make with the fennel and sausage. My adaptation is below.

Sausage and Fennel Ragu
Adapted from The Kitchn
Makes 10+ cups

Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 sweet onion, diced
2 large garlic cloves, minced (I am still using CSA garlic and the cloves are gigantic!)
1 fennel bulb, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with juice (I used Muir Glen organic because I had a coupon)
1 26.46 oz box Pomi strained tomatoes (I have seen these popping up at my local grocery stores and was immediately intrigued because they are Italian; after using them I am infatuated as well!)
Generous pinch of Giada's Tuscan Herb Mix
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
cooked pasta, to serve (I used cavatappi)
freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, to serve

1. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Crumble in the sausage and cook for about 10-15 minutes, until browned, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot frequently (use a wooden spoon to break the sausage into bite-sized crumbles). Add the onion, garlic, fennel and carrot. Mix thoroughly and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are beginning to be tender.

2. Add the diced tomatoes and the box of strained tomatoes. Stir to combine, raise the heat back to medium and bring to a simmer. Add the dried herbs, a pinch of salt, a few grinds of black pepper, lower the heat to a bare simmer and partially cover the pot with the lid. Cook for at least an hour, stirring occasionally and scrapping the bottom of the pot.

3. After an hour, the ragu should be thick and rich. Taste for seasoning and serve over hot pasta.

Red Wine and Porcini Risotto

When Hurricane Irene was battering the outside of my house this weekend, all I could think of was having something warm, rich and comforting inside of my house. (Side note: who ever would have thought that DC would experience an earthquake and a hurricane in the same week!?) (Another side note, or maybe more of an observation: it is not fun, nor dry, to walk a dog in a hurricane. Sorry Patton, next time you are on your own!)

Moving on...

I had a package of dried porcini mushrooms that I have been wanting to try and I remembered that great red wine risotto I made over the winter. I used the same recipe from Food 52 as my starting point and adapted it for what I had in the fridge and pantry. It ended up being a great hurricane dinner!

Red Wine and Porcini Risotto
Adapted from Food 52
Serves 4

Ingredients

1 oz package dried porcini mushrooms
5 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided use
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided use
3/4 cup diced 1/4 inch thick salami (or pancetta or bacon)
1 onion, diced
1 cup vialone nano rice
3/4 cup red wine
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
leaves from a couple sprigs of fresh thyme

1. Soak the mushrooms for at least 20 minutes in boiling water. (The water need only be boiling when you first pour it over the mushrooms.) Carefully remove the mushrooms from the water and squeeze any excess water from them. (Hang on to the mushroom soaking liquid in case you need more liquid for your risotto - just be careful not to stir up the dirt that would have settled to the bottom of the bowl.) Chop the mushrooms.

2. In a saucepan, bring the stock to a low simmer and maintain the simmer while making the risotto.

3. In a large skillet, heat one tablespoon of butter and one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the salami and cook until starting to crisp. Add the mushrooms and continue cooking until the salami is crisp and the mushrooms are golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

4. Add one tablespoon of olive oil to the fat already in the skillet. Saute the onion until soft. Add the rice and continually stir for about two minutes. Add the wine and stir until it has evaporated. Reduce heat to medium low.

5. Add 1/2 cup stock to the rice and stir until it has been absorbed. Continue adding stock in this manner until you have about 1 cup of stock left. Add the salami and mushrooms back to the skillet, stir to combine, and continue adding stock until the rice is al dente. It should be creamy, with a little bite, and never mushy. The amount of stock you will need depends on your rice, and a host of other factors.

6. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining two tablespoons of butter, the cheese and the thyme. Taste for seasoning and serve immediately.

Orecchiette with Chard, Sweet Sausage and Cannellini Beans

This dish was inspired by one of my favorite of Giada's pasta recipes: Orecchiette with Sausage, Beans and Mascarpone. It is in my normal pasta rotation in the cooler months, because it is comforting and delicious. I had it in mind when I was trying to come up with something to do with the gorgeous bunch of rainbow chard from my CSA bag. (I am not using the word "gorgeous" lightly. A couple of the leaves had stems that were bright magenta on one side, then you turn it over and the underside was bright orange! Nice work, nature.)

Orecchiette with Chard, Sweet Sausage and Cannellini Beans
Inspired by Giada
Serves 4

Ingredients

8 oz dried orecchiette
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 sweet onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 links sweet Italian sausage, casings removed (I think this was just over 1/2 pound and you could certainly use pork, turkey or chicken sausage)
1 cup vegetable broth
1 bunch Swiss chard, ribs removed and leaves torn or chopped into large pieces
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
large handful flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped (my CSA parsley is the best parsley I have ever tasted - so lemony and wonderful)

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil; generously salt it. Cook the pasta according to package directions. (Orecchiette take longer to cook than other shapes of pasta and I found that if I dumped the pasta into the pot at the same time that I started the sauce, it was all finished at the same time.) Drain, reserving a cup of the pasta water.

2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and stir so the onion is covered in the oil. Add the garlic, stirring until fragrant (less than a minute). Add the sausage, breaking it up into bite-sized pieces with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is soft and the sausage is fully cooked.

3. Add the stock and the chard to the pan. Cover and cook until the chard has wilted, a couple minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and stir to combine. Remove from the heat and add the pasta. Stir, then add the cheese. Taste for seasoning (I didn't need to add any salt or pepper). Portion into bowls and top with more cheese and the parsley. (I saved some of the pasta water to add to the Tupperware containers with the leftovers. If you don't have any leftovers, you probably won't need the pasta water.)

Braised Dandelion Greens with Bacon

I don't like bitter greens. I thought cooking them in bacon grease would make me like them. It didn't.

I sauteed the two spring onions and the green garlic in the bacon grease too. They were great until I added the dandelion greens. Then they became bitter too. The bacon tasted great though! Patton and I ate every last bit of it.

Bacon, Swiss Chard and Kale Pasta

I had a bunch of kale hanging out in the crisper drawer with the CSA swiss chard and found this recipe on Epicurious. Obviously I thought, "well, bacon's got to make kale and swiss chard taste delicious!" And it did. I have eaten its leftovers for three days. I never get that far! The balsamic vinegar added at the end really adds a depth of flavor to the sauce.

I followed the recipe as written, except I used half a pound of Giada's fusilli col buco pasta, about 2/3 pound of bacon, and I didn't have any Parmigiano-Reggiano on hand, so I used Pecorino Romano.

Lentils with Roasted Vegetables and Crispy Prosciutto

Kind of a moody looking dish!

Hey, look, more roasted vegetables! And honestly, this wasn't one of my successes. I think the ingredients weren't quite right.

First, I still don't like turnips. I bought baby white turnips this time, hoping that they might be better than last time. Well, they're not. Slightly more edible than the turnip root, but still not pleasurable. (A friendly reader told me to try Tokyo turnips, but I haven't seen them at any of my grocery stores.)

Second, on a good note, I cooked the lentils in vegetable broth and I loved the flavor it gave them. I will be doing that from now on.

Third, and this may be hard to believe, but I didn't like the crisp prosciutto as much as crisp cooked bacon. It certainly wasn't bad, and it still contributed that crisp, saltiness I love, but I found myself wishing it was bacon. I realize this is practically sacrilegious for an Italian to say, but at least I am being honest with you, folks!

I won't bother writing out the recipe, since I wouldn't really recommend giving it a try.

Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower and Bacon

So when I took my epic trip to Whole Foods to find farro, I also had to go up and down every aisle to see if there was anything else I couldn't live without, because making the trek to Whole Foods is a special occasion. (And I had a gift card from the VW dealership for getting Zeppy's oil changed last year, so I had to be sure I had enough groceries to use up the gift card, obvi.)

One of my finds was a bag of spinach, tomato and regular pasta shells from Whole Food's 365 brand. I have been dying to use them for something because they are so cute and colorful. I also wanted to use bacon from the package I opened for this dish earlier in the week. And what goes well with bacon (um, everything?) - cauliflower! Giant had giant (yes, my vocabulary is limited) cauliflower on sale this past weekend.

And thus, with only about five ingredients, a dinner was made.

Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower and Bacon
Serves 3

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
Extra virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
4-5 slices bacon, diced
1/2 pound dried pasta, any shape, but one that can "catch" the bacon is best
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Toss cauliflower with couple tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 30 minutes, stirring once.

3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and liberally salt it. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving at least 2 cups of the cooking water, and set aside.

4. While the pasta is cooking, in a heavy, cast iron pan/pot/braiser, warm enough olive oil to lightly cover the bottom of the pan. Cook the bacon until crisp, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Remove the pan from heat and let cool slightly. Add 1/2 cup - 1 cup of the pasta water to the pan and deglaze, scraping up the browned bits with a wooden spoon.

5. When the cauliflower is done roasting (or a minute or two before), return the bacon pan to medium/medium high heat and add the cauliflower. Cook for another minute or two, add the drained pasta and combine. Add more pasta water if necessary. Remove from the heat and stir in some grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle the bacon on top.

Roasted Vegetables and Bacon over Brown Rice

I am obsessed with roasting vegetables. I don't know what I am going to do when we are really into the heat of the summer and turning on the oven is the last thing I want to do. Luckily, turning on the oven is still an option.

I ended up with this dish because I was craving rice, which is really an anomaly seeing as the only kind of rice I usually like is risotto. I used a long grain brown rice and the package said it would need 50 minutes to cook. Whoa, no. It was done in about 30 minutes. Check your rice!

I had picked up a package of bacon at the grocery because it was on sale (I can't resist a sale!), so I decided it would add a salty crunchy bite to the veggies and rice. And I am still trying to use up the block of ricotta salata that went into this, so that got crumbled up on top, too. Overall it was extremely satisfying and reheated well the next day.

Roasted Vegetables and Bacon over Brown Rice
Serves 2

Ingredients

3/4 cup uncooked brown rice
3 small/medium golden beets, peeled and cubed
2 broccoli crowns, cut into florets
1 15oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Extra virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
4-5 slices bacon
Chunk of ricotta salata

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cook rice according to package instructions and set aside.

2. Toss vegetables with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes (or until tender), stirring once.

3. Line a second baking sheet with foil and lay the bacon on the foil. When there is about 10-12 minutes remaining for the vegetables, lower the oven heat to 400 and add the bacon baking sheet to the oven.

4. Drain the bacon on a paper towel-lined plate. Mix the rice and vegetables together, and crumble the bacon and ricotta salata on top.

Braised Lentils with Roasted Vegetables

I did mix them together when I ate them...

I have been craving lentils, which is kind of strange, because I associate them with winter and we are forecasted to hit 85 degrees today in DC, so it is decidedly NOT winter. I also had some vegetables that I wanted to use before I left town for Easter (RI - here I come!), so I got out Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. I figured if anyone can help me, Mark Bittman can! I used his braised lentils recipe as a guideline; my recipe is below.

Braised Lentils with Roasted Vegetables

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced

3 medium golden beets, peeled and diced

2 handfuls baby potatoes, diced

Extra virgin olive oil

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 sweet onion, diced

1 link fresh sweet Italian sausage, casing removed (I think it is about 1/4 lb)

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 cup lentils, rinsed

2 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup white wine

1 teaspoon or more dried Italian seasoning

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. 

2. Toss the sweet potato, beets and baby potatoes together with a tablespoon or more of olive oil, salt and pepper. Transfer to a baking sheet.

3. Heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot (or Le Creuset brasier!) over medium heat. Add onion and sausage and cook until onion is soft and meat is brown (7 or so minutes). Add garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add lentils, broth, wine and the Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil, then partly cover the pan and gently simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

4. Put the vegetables in the oven when the lentils start to boil. Roast for 30 minutes, stirring once. 

5. The lentils should be tender after 25-30 minutes. If there is a lot of liquid left in the pan, raise the heat slightly so some evaporates. You want there to be some liquid remaining. 

6. Taste the lentils and the vegetables for seasoning and enjoy!

Sweet Potato and Bacon Pasta

This is the sad story of a lonely sweet potato that took up residence on my counter for about 2 1/2 months:

Prior to Thanksgiving, the Ft. Myer Commissary had the largest sweet potatoes I have ever seen. As big as a football. So naturally, I had to buy a bunch of them. One actually went into a Thanksgiving dish (my mom's famous maple brown sugar sweet potato slop - yes, I know it needs a better name), one went into a roasted vegetable dish, and eventually there was one sad hold-out chilling on the counter.

Before I knew it, it was the end of January and the lonely sweet potato still sat there. It watched onions, garlic, bananas, apples, fennel a plenty, and others come and go. And still it sat. I poked it every now and then to see if it was getting soft, but it never gave in to my assaults.

The other night I decided I finally had to do something with it and the partial package of bacon that had been chilling in my fridge for almost as long as the sweet potato had been chilling on the counter. What else do you (ok, maybe not you, dear reader; perhaps you are more creative than me) do with random ingredients, but throw them into a pasta dish!

Unlike my last attempt at a sweet potato pasta dish (see here), this one was lacking substantial flavor, but the texture didn't bother me much. You can't really see it in the picture, but the sweet potato broke down a bit and clung to the shells. So the sad ending to the story is that the perseverant sweet potato ended up in a so-so pasta dish. The end.

Sweet Potato and Bacon Pasta
Serves 2-3

Extra virgin olive oil
2 shallots, diced
2/3 of a massive sweet potato, peeled and cut into small dice
Leaves from a couple sprigs of fresh thyme
4 slices bacon (the dish could have used more bacon, but I only had 4 slices left, so I would recommend using more. Unless you are a communist.)
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 box medium shells
1 cup chicken broth (I meant to grab the vegetable broth, but after I opened it, I realized it was chicken)
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

1. Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and sauté for a couple minutes. Add the sweet potato and thyme to the skillet; cook, stirring occasionally, for a couple minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cook the bacon according to your preferred method. Usually, I like to bake the bacon in the oven, but seeing as my oven takes 4 days to preheat, I decided to cook it in a sauté pan and make a huge bacon grease mess. When it is nice and crispy, let it drain on a paper towel-lined plate. When it has cooled, crumble into bite-sized pieces.

3. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente and drain, reserving a cup of the cooking water.

4. Back to the sweet potatoes. After a couple minutes, you will notice the pan looks really dry; add about a half cup of broth. After that has been absorbed, add the remaining half cup. Try a sweet potato to make sure it is tender and season with salt and pepper as necessary.

5. Add the pasta to the sweet potato mixture, stir to combine and add lots of cheese. Add some of the reserved pasta water if it is too dry. Top with the crumbled bacon.

Comforting, Creamy, Throw-it-all-in Pasta

So I wasn't going to blog about this dish because it is not pretty (hence the lack of a picture), and it isn't anything special, but as I am eating the leftovers for lunch, thoroughly enjoying them and realizing that the flavors have actually gotten better after a night in the fridge, I just had to share.

This pasta is similar to my What's Left in the Fridge Frittata. I got home from work later than I would have liked, I was starving and craving something comforting, and the fridge was full of a bunch of random half-used items. The resulting dish was better than many things I have made from cookbooks! It could have used a green vegetable - I think broccoli would have worked - but all I had were peas and a hard as a rock block of edamame in the freezer and I didn't think they would work as well.

Throw It All In Pasta
Serves 2

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil (could omit if using a non-stick pan)
4 slices bacon, diced
3/4 red onion, sliced (digression: I love onions. I know there are some people who have very strong aversions to onions, but I don't know what I would do without them!)
1/2 of 15 oz can of Tomato Sauce with Italian herbs (I like Contadina)
Leaves from a couple sprigs of thyme
Leaves from a large sprig of oregano, chopped
4oz Mascarpone cheese (1/2 of an 8oz container)
About 1/3 of a box of pasta (I used cavatappi, because that was the only open box in the pantry)

1. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and saute until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon to paper towel lined plate.
2. Lower heat to medium and add onions to bacon drippings. Saute until caramelized.
3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta until al dente.
4. When onions are cooked enough for your liking, add sauce, thyme and oregano. Lower heat to low or medium low. Stir until combined and sauce is heated through. Add mascarpone and stir until heated through.
5. Add drained pasta to sauce and toss to coat. Add bacon at the end.

Risotto Rosso

I have been saying for awhile that I want to try to make a risotto with red wine, and I happened to find vialone nano in Rhode Island over Christmas, and I was dying to try it. Luckily I had printed this recipe from food52 a couple months ago and it turned out to be the most delicious recipe.

The mushrooms, pancetta, red wine and beef broth gave this dish a rich, earthy depth of flavor. It was truly like nothing I have ever tasted. (Or maybe like nothing I have ever created in my kitchen.)

It just barely made two dinner portions and one leftover lunch portion, so I will definitely double it the next time I make it. (I love having risotto leftover for lunch.) Also, I had about 1 1/2 cups broth left over, which never happens with arborio rice; I am usually scrambling to find more broth to finish cooking the rice. 

Risi e Bisi

I love risotto and always look forward to fall and winter, which is the only time I want to stand over a simmering pot stirring and stirring.

Risi e bisi is a traditional Venetian spring dish and is supposed to be soupier in consistency than a risotto. As you can see from the above photo, mine certainly looks like a risotto. (Also, being a spring dish, you are supposed to make it with fresh peas, but frozen ones work fine.) The last time I made this dish (before BlB), I did manage to get it soupier, but no matter, it tastes delicious either way! And you will enjoy it in any season!

I combined two risi e bisi recipes to make this dish: one from Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Italian Cooking and one from The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook.

Risi e Bisi
Serves 4-6

6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
6 ounces pancetta, coarsely chopped
1 3/4 cups Arborio or Carnaroli rice
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups fresh or partially thawed frozen peas
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the stock to a gentle simmer and maintain over low heat.

2. In a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the pancetta and saute until golden brown, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the rice and stir until each grain is coated with oil and hot, about 2-3 minutes. Add the wine and stir until it is completely absorbed. Add 1/2 cup of the stock and stir until it is absorbed. Continue to add the stock, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring and allowing it to be absorbed before adding more, for about 10 minutes (if using frozen peas, cook for 15 minutes before adding peas).

4. Stir in the peas and the parsley and season with salt and pepper. Resume adding the stock 1/2 cup at a time and stirring until the rice is tender yet firm to the bite, 8-10 minutes more.

5. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese and butter. Check seasoning and serve with more grated Parmigiano.

Pasta with Parsnips and Bacon

Parsnips a plenty!

We had some bacon in the fridge that desperately needed to be used, so I decided to try this recipe from the Serious Eats website. It is a recipe adapted from an adapted recipe from Mario Batali's Babbo restaurant (did you get that?). And it was pretty good. Like the author/cook says on the Serious Eats site, what this dish boils down to is that parsnips taste good when cooked in pork fat. I wish I had reread his blurb before I made this dish, however, because I certainly would have used parsley instead of green onions. They did not work at all. Not the right flavor combinations.

Also, I only used 1 pound of parsnips and as you can tell from the above picture, it was plenty! I used the other half of the box of rotelle from this dish and would recommend using a short pasta, not fettuccine as the Epicurious recipe recommends.