And now for something different.

A recipe.

I have, upon occasion, been accused of cooking up something tasty. Many of the dishes I mastered were Italian: a ragu, a decent homemade pizza, a leek and sausage pasta dish that is straight ridiculous, blah, blah, blah. I loved Italy, and I wanted to recreate it in my small galley kitchen in Texas.

So when I got the nod from the skipper to come across and spend 720 days in the big boot, well, if you subscribe to this blog, you know…I was excited. I was bound to expand my culinary repertoire.

This then is the first in what I hope will be many recipes I’ll share with you people back home. It is really easy to make if you free your mind of any normal ideas of ‘measured’ cooking. I am going to give it to you like an Italian would, fast and loose. If it tickles your fancy, I encourage you to leap outside your comfort zone and make this dish. It is delish. Let it be a dinner-sized trip to Italy.

Ricetta: Risotto Trevigiana

This is a popular dish in North Eastern Italy. Very popular now as the Radicchio, is in season. I like the longer radicchio for this-NOT the cabbage looking one-as it has a milder flavor. The slight bitterness of the radicchio is balanced out by the sweetness of the leek or onion.

Confession: I actually first tried this dish in my school cafeteria. I know. Crazy, right. Imagine asking the school cafeteria cooks in the States for a recipe!

Ingredients:

Arborio Rice – 2 handfuls per person

One leek or or a few scallions (diced)

Olive oil

One radicchio – see image above. It’s seasonal in the fall and winter…I think

Garlic (optional)

Parmigiana

Broth

Butter

A splash or two of red wine (or white)

Directions:

Okay, first: in a small saucepan heat the broth on low. Keep this bad boy waiting in the wings.

Now, in another pot, heat some oil and butter. Once hot, add the diced leek (or scallion) to the butter and stir it up until it gets soft. Add garlic at this stage if you want. Next, cut the radicchio into fine strips and add those to the goodness already in progress. Things should be getting a bit wilty at this point.

Once everything is soft, drop in the rice ( 2 handfuls per person) and stir it up until it is shiny with the oil and butter left over from the onions.  Maybe even toasty. Then drop in some vino, a coupla glugs. Things should sizzle a little bit. Start stirring. In fatti, this begins the stirring part of your show. That wine you just poured? Its probably gone now. So using a ladle, dip a scooper into your broth pan, and transfer it to the rice. Keep stirring and keep adding liquid. You will stir for the next 15-20 minutes, until the rice to absorbs all that liquid it can.

At the end, throw in a bunch of Parmigiana cheese, maybe another small dollop of butter and you’re done. Salt and pepper to taste.

Buon appetito!

J.