Spring Green Risotto
*Recipe follows story
Ask me where I want to be if it’s 85 and sunny…
Slathered in SPF, reading by the pool or playing Scrabble on the beach.
And when I say reading by the pool, I mean standing on line at the public pool down the street from my house with screaming teenagers - anxiously awaiting squeezing my food loving ass on to the pool ledge where I can read and get splashed. Yes, simultaneously.
And when I say Scrabble on the beach, I mean fighting people on the Q53 for a seat on the bus - elbowing anyone who does not know the rules of riding - so Nan and I can get by with our giant bags that are packing pepper and egg sandwiches and boardgames.
But this weekend. This weekend I managed to fit in pool time, beach time and cooking.
Productive, I know.
Tanning, reading, word games, time with friends, grocery shopping and able to make a meal, hey now!
Inspiration has been difficult to come by as of late, but the birthday of my dear friend Eve motivated me to grocery shop, prepare a functional summer menu and get back into the kitchen.
But I can’t lie, I was tormenting myself. My mind was in turmoil with food questions.
Do I make fish with a side of risotto? Should I make a seafood risotto? What about chicken scallopine and a side of risotto? What if Eve and Dikenta don’t eat the fish I pick out for the seafood risotto?
What if, what if, should I, can I.
I needed to take a step back. I already knew I wanted to make risotto. No oven necessary, everything in one pot and I could be preparing the meal while my friends were on their way over - so it would be almost ready upon their arrival.
Eve and Dikenta love the farmers market and they love their vegetables, so I tossed around the idea of serving giant bowls of standard veggie risotto. Screw the protein. It’s summer. I could make a meal without fish or meat.
That’s right bitches - because cheesy risotto can stand on its own.
I toyed with the idea of a mushroom risotto, but mushrooms remind me of winter. Asparagus in my local markets had been looking lush and green, but I needed more than asparagus to make this risotto really hearty…
For inspiration, I turned to Ina Garten’s Back to Basics.
Her Spring Green Risotto would be my dinner guide. Because my guests and I love a loaded vegetable surprise, I increased the amount of veggies I added to the risotto.
Sometimes I forget I own 75 cookbooks and that it’s ok to use them…
I feel this pressure to go into the kitchen without a recipe and just make shit up as I go along, but the ease of a cookbook is a beautiful thing. Especially when the recipe comes from someone you trust.
Ina - if you only knew how much this brunette in Queens adores you.
For the side, I prepared a green bean salad.
I didn’t serve bread with the salad.
I waffled on that thought too - but I didn’t want my guests to fill up on bread, as the risotto would do the trick.
I imagined discs of spicy salami and sharp provolone would work well to scoop up the sweet and tangy green bean salad - and they did.
Green bean salad recipe to come.
But for now, Spring Green Risotto - and a very Happy Birthday to Eve.
