spring risotto

how was your holiday weekend? ours was wonderful & relaxing - filled with beautiful weather, a rooftop bbq, a corn dog from the shake shack and a few long walks in the sun. according to the calendar it's still officially spring, so you've got a few weeks left to make this delicious spring risotto. or use the concept as a base to add your favorite seasonal vegetables all year long. we found a great stand at the green market with amazing sprouted and leafy goodness and decided to pick up some pea shoots (which scream spring!) and lamb's quarters (new to us, but so tasty). too many people think risotto is a labor intensive dish - but it really just requires a little prep and about 20-25 minutes of stirring - and the result is definitely worth it! in our opinion, there are two key elements to good risotto - the freshest ingredients, which should go without saying, and a rich homemade stock. whether you prefer veggie or chicken, make it at home and you'll love the depth it adds to your cooking. hmmm, i feel another blog post coming soon . . on stocks!

Spring Risotto

serves 4

4 cups chicken stock

3 tbs olive oil

1 medium onion, peeled & diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

6 small carrots, peeled & diced

1 cup carnaroli or arborio rice

1 cup fava beans, shelled, blanched & second skins removed

1 cup lamb's quarters, roughly chopped

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

salt & pepper to taste

1 cup pea greens

in a small saucepan, bring stock to a simmer and keep warm over low heat. in a large pot or dutch oven, heat olive oil. saute onion, garlic and carrots until just tender, about 5 minutes. add rice and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. add 1 cup of warm stock and stir constantly until all or nearly all the liquid is absorbed by the rice. add remaining stock, 1/2 cup at a time and stirring constantly until each portion is absorbed. stir in fava beans and lamb's quarters and cook for 1 minute. remove from heat and stir in cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste. garnish each portion with 1/4 cup pea greens and serve immediately. enjoy!

spring fever

it was too nice out today and for the past several days to cook much at home. we had a fun afternoon & evening today wandering around the city on foot - enjoying the bright sun, warm breeze and fifty degree weather! had a fantastic lunch here and can't wait to go back very very soon, nice ginger cookie & iced coffee break here and another sweet treat here. we are trying to spend a few moments every tuesday to go out and try something new in the city - we'll keep you posted on what's new & exciting to us as we explore. any suggestions for spots we just shouldn't miss?

spring salad

here's a fresh, hearty side dish that we served along side the pineapple glazed ham at urban family easter this year. wheat berries are a fairly new grain to us but we just love the nutty taste and find them very similar to farro. the addition of tender young asparagus, fresh pea shoots and chopped mint screams spring and is a testament to the beautiful greens at farmer's market this month. we used this pesto recipe from a past post but decided to replace the parsley with basil for a more traditional flavor. enjoy!

Spring Wheat Berry Salad with Spinach Pesto

serves 8

2 cups wheat berries

2 leeks, white & light green parts only, thinly sliced and washed

1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces & blanched

1 cup chopped pea shoots

1/4 cup chopped mint

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 cup spinach pesto (see recipe here)

2-4 tbs olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

3 oz crumbled goat cheese

in a large pot, combine wheat berries with 4 cups water and bring to a boil. reduce to a simmer and cook until tender but left with a little chewiness, about 1 hour. drain well and set aside. meanwhile, heat 1 tbs olive oil in a saute pan and saute leeks until translucent and softened, about 8 minutes. in a large bowl, combine wheat berries with leeks, asparagus, pea shoots, mint, lemon juice and pesto and toss to coat. add extra olive to loosen the pesto if it is too thick and season with salt and pepper to taste. serve at room temperature and garnish with crumbled goat cheese.