Jer: Lemon Risotto with Rapini

I am a method girl. What gets me going in the kitchen is learning a cooking process and then repeating it and repeating it until I have the method ingrained in my inner mind. I suspect given our professional responsibilities all of us are a little manic about cooking methods and processes. We try again and again until we’ve achieved our own level of satisfaction knowing that the bars we set for ourselves are well above what others would deem adequate. Ok, maybe this happens outside of the kitchen too.

I love risotto. Like braising or making stock it is all about the method. Master the basic steps and you’ll never have to reference a recipe again. And like its Valencian cousin it can be adjusted for almost any seasonal ingredient or number of guests. As the centerpiece meal for company - add shellfish or handfuls of roasted wild mushrooms that you would only splurge on for a special meal. Just home from the farmer’s market in the spring - add freshly shelled English peas or fava beans with leftover prosciutto. In the fall, use it as a cradle for the petite butternut squash you see at the market roasted with good olive oil. Ms. Hesser is right in that it is a true comfort food to share with friends -- I've made it for old friends a few times this cold winter and its the perfect dish to bring people together.

I made just a few changes to this recipe, not because I thought it needed it but because I just can’t seem to stray from the risotto method ingrained in my mind. Before adding the rice to the butter and olive oil I sautéed some shallots and I added some dry white wine to the rice before adding the stock.

And since I knew I’d be disappointed without some color contrast in the risotto I decided to add some chopped rapini sautéed in garlic.

I cooked the rapini the same way I cook all my greens -- slow cook thinly sliced garlic in good olive oil, add salt and pepper to oil, add washed greens to pan and stir, cover for a few minutes and let steam cook the greens, mix and serve with fresh lemon. This takes minutes and is a wonderful and easy way to prepare rapini, spinach, kale, chard, beet greens, or any other lovely green you see at the market. I chose rapini because I love it with lemon as the tartness cuts through some of the bitterness in a way that is really delicious. Lastly, I decided not to add the crème fraiche, mainly because I’ve cooked a number of risottos before that called for crème fraiche or crème and I’ve just never felt like the added calories really makes a difference in the flavor. In the last few minutes I always use a wooden spoon to give a nice heavy round of stirs while adding the parmeseano reggiano. Occasionally I’ll add some really nice olive oil or truffle oil with the cheese but tonight I did not as I wanted the lemon and the garlic from the rapini to really stand out. In addition to the zest of one lemon I also added the juice of the lemon to the risotto while cooking.

We loved this dish Susan. Plus, the lemon risotto which is light but creamy was the perfect way to sneak in an entire bundle of cooked greens. Since it was only me and Peter tonight I didn't make the veal chops. I’ll have to make it for dinner very soon – certainly making use of the pre-salting method for roasted meat that I’ve practiced dozens of times from the Zuni Cookbook!

And since we’re on the topic of rice, here is a paella I made a few weeks ago for family dinner to celebrate Pete’s birthday. Easy as pie once you have the method down!