All posts by Kelli

Risotto 101

Risotto, a classic Italian dish where a short grain rice is cooked slowly in broth, is a wonderful and versatile vegetarian main course or a great side dish.   Once you have the basics of risotto-making, you can use risotto as a venue for all kinds of vegetables and vegetable combinations.  Mushrooms and spring vegetables are common themes for many risottos, but you can certainly branch out and get creative.  I love making a carrot and ginger risotto with coconut milk, or (as below) a beautiful red beet risotto.

 beet risotto

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Black Bean Soup

I highly recommend using dried black beans for this soup.  However, canned beans can be substituted if you would like to make this soup quickly.  You may think the quantity of spices looks high.  I have found that black beans tend to require a heavier hand with the spice jar if you really want to taste the flavor of the spices.  

I like to garnish with cilantro lime crema, and pico de gallo or mango cucumber salsa.  However, any of the following would make terrific garnishes: crumbled tortilla chips, minced red onions, pickled onions, diced avocado, sour cream, freshly squeezed lime, cheese, cilantro . . .

 black bean soup

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Arancini

How can you make a delicious risotto even more delicious?  Make the leftovers into arancini.  Arancini are delicious fried balls of risotto, often stuffed with cheese and served with tomato sauce.  I made them tonight with a delicata squash risotto that I took to the Thanksgiving dinner that my husband I attended.  I stuffed them with crumbled blue cheese and hazelnuts and served them alongside cedar-planked salmon and roasted broccoli. 

arancini

 

 

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