Life on a Plate: Recipe Testing -- Risotto

A few weeks ago, food52 started giving its community cooks the opportunity to test a selection of recipes as potential Editors' Picks. An Editors' Pick is considered an honorable mention, and I've been fortunate enough to have a few recipes selected as EPs.

Amanda and Merrill, who founded food52, test a lot of recipes each week, but they're not always able to test every Editors' Pick, relying instead on their well-honed instincts. So, since they prefer to have all the recipes curated, they've given us, the cooks, a chance to participate in the process.

So far, I've tested three recipes: Lamb chops with blood orange and mint compote and feta mashed potatoes, by chez lady s, Dinner Party Meatloaf by gabrielaskitchen and Butternut Squash Risotto with Pancetta, Manchego and Sage.

The lovely risotto, made by food52 cook kristalberg, ended up as an Editors' Pick -- take a look to hear more about this great dish. In fact, we've really enjoyed testing and eating all the dishes.

Testing these recipes and serving them to my family has been an inspiring endeavor. It feels more personal than preparing a recipe from a cookbook or magazine. As I cook, I can't help but imagine the people who developed the recipes -- people I "know" from the site but have never met -- and then wonder if these are heirloom recipes, family favorites or if they were created specifically for food52.

Every recipe has a story -- whether it's a celebration, joyful memory or simple, satisfying moment -- in the end, it all adds up to life on a plate.

Silky Shallot Soup with Crispy Pancetta

For the last few years, I have been engaged in a wonderful relationship with shallots. I've found their sweet, sophisticated flavor has improved my cooking immensely, and they have, in many cases, replaced onions in my kitchen.

When food52 recently chose onion or garlic soup for one of its contests, I considered French onion soup, a garlic chorizo soup (need to pursue this idea one day), but then, it became apparent that I needed to create a shallot soup. It's unique -- certainly not something I've seen in cookbooks or restaurant menus -- and it fits my cooking sensibility right now.

This light-bodied soup contrasts the delicate profile of shallots with earthy rosemary and a touch of cream for a velvety texture. Top with pancetta and frizzled shallots for a burst of salty crispness and to echo the soup's essence. The end result is a subtle, yet intensely flavored dish.

Serve this silky brew as a first course for beef or chicken dishes, or as a main course with the obligatory crisp green salad and crusty bread.

Note: this recipe was a food52 Editors' Pick.

Silky Shallot Soup with Crispy Pancetta

Serves 4-6

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
5 cups shallots, thinly sliced, plus a half cup
Salt, pepper and crushed red pepper, to taste
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tablespoon rosemary, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
20 ounces good quality chicken stock
1/4 cup heavy cream
5 1/2 inch slices pancetta, cubed

Heat olive oil and butter in a large soup pot over medium, add 5 cups shallots, sweat until soft for several minutes.

Add salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and bay leaf. Cook until golden and beginning to caramelize, stirring often, about 20 minutes. Add garlic and rosemary.

After another five minutes or so, deglaze with wine and reduce. Add chicken stock and simmer for at least 10 minutes, longer if you have the time. Remove bay leaf.

Meantime, saute pancetta in a stainless steel pan until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Add remaining 1/2 cup shallots to pancetta fat and cook until crisp. Place on paper towels.

Remove soup from heat and puree with an immersion blender or in a food processor. Stir in cream and serve, topped with pancetta and frizzled shallots.

Short Ribs over Pappardelle

If you're looking for a special, decadent meal, look no further than these short ribs over pappardelle. We welcomed 2010 with this meal on New Year's Day, and found it the perfect way to mark a new decade.

Beef short ribs are a tender, succulent cut that lend themselves to long, slow cooking. They are versatile and adaptable -- you can infuse them with all manner of flavors, including French, Korean and Italian.

We went Italian this time, adapting Giada De Laurentiis' recipe. It combines rich, savory flavors like pancetta, rosemary and red wine with onion, garlic, carrot, beef broth and more.

This recipe calls for braising, a simple technique that coaxes maximum flavor and tenderness out of any cut. You brown the meat in a big pot, add your aromatics, herbs and braising liquid -- usually wine and/or stock) and then leave it alone for a few hours to work its magic. The result is meltingly soft and silky.

I started by crisping up some chopped pancetta, then removing it from the pot. Next, I seasoned the short ribs with salt and pepper, dredged them lightly in flour and browned over medium heat on all sides.

Meantime, I pulsed onion, carrot, garlic, tomato paste and tomatoes in a food processor until finely minced. I love this technique -- it made the sauce smooth and intensely flavorful. Once the short ribs are browned, you add the vegetable mixture back into the pot, add the pancetta, season with salt, pepper and various herbs, beef broth and wine. Cover the pot and go do other things for 75 minutes.

Then, remove the lid and stir occasionally for another 90 minutes. Remove the short ribs, shred the meat and return back to the pot. Cook up your pasta al dente and you're done. You can also let the shredded meat chill overnight and reheat the next day for even more flavor. We were supposed to grate a bit of dark chocolate over the finished dish -- chocolate intensifies the flavor of beef -- but we forgot. Next time.

This is rustic comfort food at its best, suitable for entertaining and great for a family Sunday supper. It was also one of the best things to come out of my kitchen in a long time -- this recipe really works.

Stuffing with Ciabatta, Pancetta and Apples

As you might know, I have a deep affection for pancetta and all Italian ingredients. So why not combine my favorite Italian flavors into a Thanksgiving stuffing? I adapted this recipe from Giada DeLaurentiis and honored American tradition by adding an apple, sage, thyme, and a hint of cinnamon for a sweet, subtle kick. I also substituted shallot for onion to complement the apple's sweetness. This flavorful stuffing is an excellent mate to Thanksgiving turkey, roasted chicken or even beef tenderloin. Feel free to ad lib on the bread -- sourdough or focaccia come to mind.

Editor's note: This dish was named an Editor's Pick on food52.com.

Stuffing with Ciabatta, Pancetta and Apples

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons butter
8 ounces pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch dice (freeze for 10-15 minutes before for easy slicing)
2 cups shallots, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
3 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 honeycrisp apple, diced (or apple of your choice)
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups wild mushrooms, finely chopped (I used baby bellas)
1 pound day-old ciabatta, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
2/3 cups freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano
1 cup (or more) chicken stock, preferably homemade
2 large eggs, beaten

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 15 by 10 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium flame.

Add the pancetta and saute about 10-12 minutes, until crisp. Transfer pancetta to large bowl with a slotted spoon.

Melt remaining butter in the skillet and add the shallot, carrots, celery, salt and pepper. Turn heat up to medium-high. After a few minutes, add the mushrooms, rosemary, thyme, sage and garlic.

Sprinkle cinnamon on the chopped apple and add to the pan. Saute until the shallots are tender, at least 12 minutes. Stir gently occasionally.

Transfer the onion mixture to bowl with pancetta, stir to incorporate.

Add the ciabatta and parmesan and toss. Pour in enough stock to lightly coat the bread, then mix in the eggs.

Combine thoroughly, then transfer stuffing to buttered dish. Cover with buttered foil, buttered side down, then bake for about 30 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake about 15 minutes, until stuffing is crisp and golden.

Pasta All'matriciana

Pasta All'matriciana is a sumptuous, simple dish. It's rich and hearty, with a spicy, salty bite. Traditionally made with spaghetti or bucatini, I subbed farfalle because that's what I had. I added garlic, also untraditional, and used a local bottled tomato sauce to make this a weeknight-friendly dish. This recipe generously serves two, or allows for a small lunch portion the following day.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound farfalle, cooked al dente

1 tablespoon olive oil

Half an onion, sliced thinly

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt, pepper and crushed red pepper to taste

1/3 pound pancetta, cubed

Half a bottle of good quality chunky tomato sauce, or homemade sauce

Pecorino cheese, to taste

Directions:

Saute the onion in olive oil over medium heat until soft and lightly browned in a large skillet. Add garlic and stir to combine. Add salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. Meantime, in a small skillet, saute pancetta until crispy and brown. Remove with slotted spoon and add to onion mixture, along with about a tablespoon of the fat. Add al dente pasta to the pancetta and onion mixture and combine. Pour in tomato sauce and heat until warmed. Serve with pecorino, a crispy green salad and a glass of good red wine.

Forest Grill

Tonight we continued Wes' birthday celebration with dinner at the award-winning Forest Grill in Birmingham. Owner/Chef Polcyn has long championed high quality local ingredients and traditional techniques and this American bistro follows suit.

We started our extraordinary meal with a glass of Prosecco paired with two perfect appetizers: summer crab and melon salad with a crenshaw melon consommé; and an English pea risotto, with arborio rice, mascarpone cheese, black truffles, truffle oil, Parmigianno-Reggiano, fresh herbs gremolata and pancetta.

The crab salad, seasoned with chives and lemon and topped with arugula, frisee, and avocado, was light, zesty and refreshing. The cool melon consommé mingled with the crab to balance and tame the peppery notes.  In contrast, the creamy, intensely flavored risotto, speckled with crispy, salty housemade pancetta, offered substance and silky richness. 

In short, this is how I want to remember summer during the bleak snowfalls of January.

We followed with veal cheeks, Parisian herb and ricotta gnocchi, wilted spinach, tomato and Parmigianno-Reggiano. The chef braises the meltingly tender veal cheeks in a demi-glace and port for eight hours, then surrounds them with the plump, pillowy dumplings. The dish is rich, hearty, slightly sweet, but never heavy. Heavenly.

We also savored the bouillabaisse with mussels, clams, lobster, scallops, shrimp and crab in a rich, flavorful tomato broth, with crunchy baguette topped with saffron rouille.

Our fine server Joseph presented proper wine pairings for both entrees: 2006 Morgan Winery Double L Vineyard Chardonnay from Santa Lucia Highlands and a 2006 Clos La Coutale Malbac.

The highly talented and credentialed Executive Chef David Gilbert has made the requisite rounds: Thomas Keller's French Laundry in the vaunted Yountville, Calif., as well as various three-star Michelin rated restaurants in Paris and Spain.

Nearly 10 years ago, author Michael Ruhlman featured Polcyn in his excellent book, The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection. The two also collaborated on the James Beard Award-nominated Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing.

While Forest Grill is an exceptional spot for a celebration meal, you can go casual here, too, with soups, clay-oven baked pizzas or the charcuterie de jour. Mindful of the economy, the restaurant now offers prix fixe three-course lunch ($15) and dinner ($30) menus. However you choose to do it, just get there and enjoy.

Barding Pork

I've never had the best luck cooking pork. I've tried roasts, chops, tenderloins, the works. The results are usually a bit dry, a bit bland, and not really what I want for dinner.

That's why a technique like barding can be so useful in the kitchen. Essentially, you wrap a piece of lean meat with a piece of fattier meat before cooking to add flavor and moisture. Meats like bacon and pancetta work really well and can enliven any lean cut.

I tried this with a pork loin, inspired by a Martha recipe from her latest cookbook, "Cooking School: Lessons and Recipes for the Home Cook" as inspiration.

First, allow a two-pound boneless pork loin to come to room temperature for about an hour. Pat dry with paper towels, season lightly with kosher salt and more liberally with freshly ground black pepper. Heat a large, heavy ovenproof skillet over medium high and add enough olive oil to lightly coat the pan. Sear the roast on all sides, turning with tongs, about 6-8 minutes. Remove and let cool for about 15 minutes.

Take six pieces of butcher's twine, laying three or four pieces vertically and two horizontally on a large, clean cutting board, Take 12 ounces of thinly sliced pancetta and place about half of them on the twine in a rectangle shape, overlapping a bit, so the end result is about an inch larger than the roast on all sides. Then, rub the pork loin all over with minced fresh rosemary, place it on top of the pancetta and use the remaining slices to cover the top of the roast completely, overlapping again. Next, place a whole sprig of rosemary on top of the roast, tuck edges together and tie the twine around the whole package, first from end to end and then around.

Put the roast back into the skillet and place in 450 degree preheated oven. Roast for 40-50 minutes, or until the thickest part registers 138 degrees with an instant thermometer. Remove from oven, let the meat rest for about 10 minutes and cut into thickish slices to serve.

I subbed prosciutto in this recipe (my pancetta was frozen solid) and drizzled some extra virgin olive oil on top of the pork loin before and after wrapping to add some moisture. I served it with roasted parsnips and cipollini onions and a crisp green salad. This makes a great weekend meal for a family or small dinner party. Give it a try.