Sides | I Can Cook That

Grilled Corn with Chipotle-Lime Butter

After reading just the title, how could you not be excited for this recipe? Grilled corn is one of my favorite treats in the summer, and I refuse to let my city dwelling keep me from it! I cooked this on a counter top grill and loved it, so I can only imagine how delicious this is on an actual outdoor grill.

This is another recipe from Cooking Light’s “Quick & Healthy Menu Maker App“. I cut the recipe in half, to make only two servings. We ate this along side the Mango Shrimp Kabobs.

Ingredients:

Cooking spray

2 ears shucked corn

1/2 tablespoon butter

1/4 teaspoon chipotle chile powder

Zest from 1 lime

Salt and pepper, to taste

Begin by shucking your corn. Take care to remove as much of the silk as possible.

Side note: this was probably the most stressful part of the process for me. I was using corn from my CSA share and had read a post from another CSA share member, One Curly Fry in a Box of the Regular, about the horror she found under the husk. Oh the joys of organic produce. Thankfully, I had a bit more luck than she did. Look how wonderful that corn looks!

Preheat your grill. I set mine for medium-high. Coat the grill with cooking spray and add the corn.

Cook until grill marks begin to appear, about 10 minutes (closer to 8 minutes for a normal grill). Turn the corn frequently to allow it to evenly cook.

While the corn is cooking, place the butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds or until the butter has melted. Add the chile powder, zest, pepper and salt.

ok. It’s not much to look at, but it tastes good!

Remove the corn from the grill and brush the butter mixture over the corn.

I loved the subtle smokiness of the chipotle chile powder with the corn. We had some leftover limes from the kebobs and took full advantage of the lime juice on the corn, which really worked well with the butter mixture. I honestly had trouble taking photos of this, because as soon as it was done, we couldn’t control ourselves and scarfed it down! Definitely a keeper.

Pesto Pasta Salad

I am in a pasta salad making mood, so I decided to make one more batch for this weekend. I already made one pasta salad for this weekend, but I have a bunch of these ingredients on hand from other recipes and I don’t want them to go bad over the long weekend. I used a recipe from My Recipes as a base and substituted ingredients I already had, and ended up with this Pesto Pasta Salad!

Ingredients for the pesto:

1 or 2 bunches of packed fresh basil

1 bunch of packed fresh parsley

4 garlic cloves, minced

Juice and zest from 1 lemon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup walnuts (or toasted pine nuts)

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Ingredients for the salad:

1 box gemelli or other short pasta

1 small container plain 2 percent Greek yogurt

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

3 small cucumbers, sliced

1 red onion, chopped

1/2 cup feta cheese

Cook the pasta according to the “al dente” directions on the package. Drain and run under cold water. Set aside.

To make the pesto, combine the basil, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, pepper and walnuts in a food processor. (I ended up being just short of 1/3 cup walnuts, so I also added in a few toasted pine nuts.) Blend until smooth. Pour in olive oil and blend until there is a thick paste. Add the Parmesan and combine until blended. Add more salt and pepper, to taste.

Prepare all of your vegetables. After chopping the red onion, run it under cold water to remove some of the bite. Slice your cucumbers and halve your tomatoes.

Combine the pesto and Greek yogurt in a large bowl.

Add the pasta and vegetables and toss to coat.

Because I am making this for the weekend, I only made a tiny batch fully mixed so I could taste it. The pesto mixture is so so creamy that you honestly might not even need the feta. The tomatoes and red onions add a wonderful contrast to the pesto and the cucumbers add a nice crunch to the salad. I will try to take some photos this weekend of the fully assembled salad, but if it is anything close to what I just sampled, I think my friends will be happy.

Yum

Pesto Pasta Salad

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

Pesto:

1 or 2 bunches of packed fresh basil
1 bunch of packed fresh parsley
4 garlic cloves, minced
Juice and zest from 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup walnuts (or toasted pine nuts)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salad:

1 box gemelli or other short pasta
1 small container plain 2 percent Greek yogurt
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
3 small cucumbers, sliced
1 red onion, chopped
1/2 cup feta cheese

Instructions

Cook the pasta according to the “al dente” directions on the package. Drain and run under cold water. Set aside.
To make the pesto, combine the basil, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, pepper and walnuts in a food processor. (I ended up being just short of 1/3 cup walnuts, so I also added in a few toasted pine nuts.) Blend until smooth. Pour in olive oil and blend until there is a thick paste. Add the Parmesan and combine until blended. Add more salt and pepper, to taste.
Prepare all of your vegetables. After chopping the red onion, run it under cold water to remove some of the bite. Slice your cucumbers and halve your tomatoes.
Combine the pesto and Greek yogurt in a large bowl.
Add the pasta and vegetables and toss to coat.

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Italian Pasta Salad

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It’s almost July 4th weekend, so I am preparing a bunch of dishes for me to trek down to the beach.

I tend to make food that can marinate for a day or two so that I have time to make it without rushing around right before we leave. This time around, I decided to make a pasta salad based off my mom’s version.

Ingredients:

1 box of tri-colored pasta
1 can of pitted black olives, sliced
1 package of cherry or grape tomatoes
1/2 cup corn kernels
1/2 can of black beans, rinsed
6 mozzarella balls, halved
small jar of artichoke hearts, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 jar roasted red peppers, roughly chopped
Italian dressing (recipe below)

Ingredients for Italian dressing:

1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white wine or rice vinegar
1 1/3 cup olive oil or canola oil

Continue reading Italian Pasta Salad

Sauteed Pea Tendrils

Pea tendrils (or pea shoots) are the leaves from a snow pea plant. They have a bit of a spinach-pea taste, delicate and very tasty. Before receiving them in my CSA share, I just thought they were used in a stir fry or as a topping. But these little guys are really delicious in a simple saute.

Ingredients:
Pea tendrils
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, smashed and cut in half
Salt, to taste

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic cloves and cook for 2 minutes, until sizzling but not browned.

You can either remove the garlic, or keep it in there to add more garlicky flavor. Add the pea tendrils and salt to taste.

Saute for 1-2 minutes until slightly wilted but still maintaining its shape. That’s it! So simple, so yummy.

Truffled Roasted Potatoes

I was so excited to receive red potatoes in my CSA share this week. I love roasted red potatoes with fresh herbs, but I had a little bit of white truffle oil left that I wanted to use. I found this recipe for Truffled Roasted Potatoes from Cooking Light which sounded delicious.

Ingredients:
1 small container of red potatoes, washed and quartered
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic scapes, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon white truffle oil
1 teaspoon each of chopped fresh thyme leaves, sage leaves, and rosemary

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Wash your red potatoes thoroughly, but gently. (The skin of red potatoes is fragile). I used a little brush to lightly buff off the dirt under warm running water.

before

after

Cut the potatoes into wedges: quarters for the larger potatoes, and halves for the smaller potatoes, and arrange on a cookie sheet.

Drizzle olive oil over the potatoes and sprinkle with garlic scapes, salt and pepper.

Bake at 450 degrees for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are brown and slightly wrinkled.

While the potatoes are cooking, chop your thyme, sage, and rosemary. Combine.

Remove the potatoes from the oven, drizzle with truffle oil, and sprinkle with the herb mixture.

This was fantastic. I honestly couldn’t stop eating the potatoes. Truffle oil is such a great ingredient, although it is a bit of a splurge. Truffle oil is usually added at the end of a dish, the oil is too delicate to be subjected to high heat. A little bit of truffle oil goes a long way though so do not overpour! When I make this recipe in the future, I plan on using normal minced garlic (2-3 cloves), the garlic scapes were quite burnt from the oven so I didn’t get any of the garlic taste from them. Boo.

Lemon Broccoli

I’m not going to lie. Broccoli is not my favorite vegetable. I have a tendency to pass over it for more favored choices. But I received broccoli in my CSA half share this week, so I decided to give it another try. I used this recipe from Oxmoor House as a starting point, and adapted the recipe for my tastes.

Ingredients:

1 head broccoli, cut into bite-sized florets
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Juice and zest from 1 lemon
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Continue reading Lemon Broccoli

Grilled Marinated Asparagus

Tonight, I get a night off from cooking! Sort of. My boyfriend and his roommates are firing up the grill and doing the hard part, so all I have to do is make various marinades for the food. We had some asparagus lying around so I decided to just make a simple marinade to make this Grilled Marinated Asparagus.

Ingredients:
1 bunch of asparagus
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 2 large garlic cloves)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon chopped onion flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all the ingredients not including the asparagus. Mix well.

Prepare the asparagus. Remove the rough bottoms of the stems. Asparagus tends to snap where the tougher part ends, or you can just cut the asparagus where you think it needs to be trimmed.

asparagus ends

Place the asparagus on a large piece of tin foil. You will make a little packet out of the tin foil.

Fold up each side of the tin foil, twisting the ends so that they stay together.

Pour the marinade over the asparagus.

Close the foil and marinate for at least one hour. You can either remove the asparagus from the foil and place the asparagus right on the grill, cooking for 6-8 minutes, turning carefully half way through, or you can put the asparagus on the grill in the foil, cooking for about 10 minutes. Either way, grill until the asparagus is tender but still has a crunch to it.

there it is. in the tin foil

This turned out really well. The balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce add a bit of tangy-ness to the asparagus without overpowering the delicious natural flavor of asparagus. Many thanks to the grill masters:

Tim

Kevin

for not letting my asparagus get soggy. It was great to only have to do the prep work on a dish… a girl could get used to this!

Yum

Grilled Marinated Asparagus

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

1 bunch of asparagus
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 2 large garlic cloves)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon chopped onion flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients not including the asparagus. Mix well.
Prepare the asparagus. Remove the rough bottoms of the stems. Asparagus tends to snap where the tougher part ends, or you can just cut the asparagus where you think it needs to be trimmed.
Place the asparagus on a large piece of tin foil. You will make a little packet out of the tin foil.
Fold up each side of the tin foil, twisting the ends so that they stay together.
Pour the marinade over the asparagus.
Close the foil and marinate for at least one hour. You can either remove the asparagus from the foil and place the asparagus right on the grill, cooking for 6-8 minutes, turning carefully half way through, or you can put the asparagus on the grill in the foil, cooking for about 10 minutes. Either way, grill until the asparagus is tender but still has a crunch to it.

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Quick Garlic Bread

I love garlic bread. It’s really easy to make and is the perfect accompaniment to spaghetti or soup. Here is a quick recipe to make garlic bread.

Ingredients:
1 loaf of French Bread
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon parsley
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the butter, garlic, parsley, oregano, and Parmesan cheese. Slice the bread, but not all the way through.

Divide the butter mixture evenly between each piece.

Wrap the bread in aluminum foil and cook for 15 minutes.

Serve right out of the oven. You can either slice the bread all the way through, or just serve it as is and tear off a piece as needed. This recipe makes a softer garlic bread. If you prefer a toasty garlic bread, broil the bread for 2 to 3 minutes instead.

Slow Braised Collard Greens

In the south, collard greens are traditionally made with smoked or salted meats, primarily ham hocks. I looked for a substitute for ham hocks (they kind of freak me out, not going to lie), and found a recipe for Slow Braised Collard Greens that used bacon instead.

Ingredients:
3 slices of applewood-smoked bacon
1/2 cup chopped onion (I used about 1/3 of an onion)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, more for additional heat
1/4 teaspoon salt
6-10 leaves of collard greens, torn with the tough stem removed
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup white wine
1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar (I used rice vinegar)

Begin by cooking your bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat.

Cook until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove from the pan and allow to cool. While waiting for the bacon to cool, prepare your onion and collard greens. Crumble the bacon once cooled.

Add the onion to the bacon drippings in the Dutch oven.

Cook for two minutes, stirring so that it evenly cooks. Add the pepper, salt, and greens and cook for another two minutes, or until the greens begin to wilt.

Stir in the crumbled bacon, broth, water, wine, and vinegar.

Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hours or until greens are tender.

I added a 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper instead of a 1/4 teaspoon and found it to be a bit too hot for my liking. However, if you like things spicy, by all means use a 1/2 teaspoon. This side dish has a ton of flavor. An hour is a really long time to cook, but it really lets the flavors meld together. Yum!

Sauteed Collard Greens

This week, I received collard greens as part of my CSA. Although traditionally made with smoked meats and such, I wanted to ease my way into this new veggie. (I’ll try a somewhat more traditional version later this week)

Ingredients:
1 bunch of collard greens, stems removed and roughly chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 spring garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Lemon, optional

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a teaspoon of salt. Prepare your collard greens while waiting for the water to boil.

remove large stem in center of leaf

roughly chop

When the water is boiling, add the collard greens and cook for ten minutes.

when initially added

ten minutes in

Drain the collard greens in a colander and rinse under cold water. Squeeze against the colander to remove excess water.

Chop the spring garlic.

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for one minute.

Add the collard greens and season with salt and pepper.

Cook until wilted, about three to four minutes.

Collard greens have a slight bitterness to them that works well with the subtle garlic taste of spring garlic (versus normal garlic). I added a squeeze of lemon which helped brighten the dish a bit. It’s a nice alternative to spinach, my default leafy green. As with most darker green vegetables, collard greens are high in Vitamins A, C, and K and are high in fiber, so the more leafy greens in my diet, the better.

Spinach with Pine Nuts and Golden Raisins

I am still on a Wilted Spinach with Garlic Vinaigrette kick, but my CSA gave me a bag of spinach about the size of my torso, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to branch out and try other spinach side recipes. I had all of these ingredients on hand, so this recipe from Cooking Light (August 2006) seemed like a good choice.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup boiling water
1/3 cup golden raisins
4 cups spinach
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 teaspoons pine nuts, toasted

First place golden raisins in a bowl. Add 1/2 cup boiling water and let stand for 15 minutes or until raisins expand. Drain and set aside.

Place the pine nuts in a saute pan over medium heat. Shake the pan frequently to keep them from burning. When fragrant and browned, remove from heat.

Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the spinach and 2 tablespoons water.

Cook for 3 minutes or until the spinach wilts.

Remove from pot and wipe the pot dry. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil to the pan and add garlic. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring frequently. Add the spinach and raisins. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cook for 1 minute or until heated. Stir in pine nuts and serve.

I would have never thought to put something sweet like raisins with spinach, but they really worked well together. The pine nuts added a bit of crunch, as well as some flavor from toasting the pine nuts. Although I’m not willing to shelve my go-to spinach recipe, this one will definitely be added to my recipe arsenal!

Asparagus Risotto

I love asparagus. I love risotto. So I thought combining the two would be easy and delicious. I used a recipe from Bon Appétit, just to make sure I knew what I was doing. Well, my poor “asparagus risotto” ended up looking more like asparagus soup with rice. Sigh. It still tasted good though…

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds asparagus

5 cups (about) canned low-salt chicken broth

1 cup water

1 tablespoon butter

1 large onion, chopped

2 cups arborio rice or medium-grain white rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup whipping cream

Fresh rosemary sprigs (optional)

Begin by prepping your asparagus. Trim off the tough ends from the asparagus and discard. Cut off the asparagus tips and place in a bowl. Cut the stalks into ¾ inch pieces and place in another bowl.

Place 2/3 of stalk pieces, 1 cup broth and 1 cup water in blender (note: I would only use 1 cup broth, no water).

Puree until smooth and set aside. Chop your onion. I used large pieces, but I think the smaller the pieces, the better. Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 8 minutes.

Add rice and stir for 1 minute.

Add the wine and cook until absorbed, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Add ½ cup broth and the chopped rosemary. Simmer until liquid is absorbed.

Continue to cook for an additional 15 minutes, adding more broth by the ½ cupfuls and allowing liquid to fully absorb before adding more. Stir often.

Add remaining asparagus stalk pieces and reserved asparagus tips and continue cooking rice until it’s tender and creamy, about 10 more minutes. Add extra broth if needed.

Add reserved asparagus puree until absorbed, about 3 minutes. (Note: 3 minutes? Ha. After 12 minutes I just gave up.)

Asparagus soup?

Stir in Parmesan and cream. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with rosemary sprigs if desired.

So, I’m guessing that cutting out the water in the puree may help a bit. I also think it might work to slowly add the puree by the ½ cupfuls versus dumping the whole thing in at once. Despite how ugly it is, it did taste good. If anyone tries this out and manages to make it look aesthetically pleasing, please let me in on your secret!

Cucumber Salad with Radish and Dill

I Signed up for a CSA vegetable half share through the Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative. Once a week, I pick up a box of local, organic and (obviously) in-season vegetables. This week my bundle included pink radishes. I have never tried to make anything with radishes so I was excited to see what kind of recipes were out there for this ingredient. I decided to try a salad recipe from Martha Stewart.

Ingredients:
1 English cucumber (or 3 Kirby cucumbers) halved lengthwise, seeded, thinly sliced
4 radishes, thinly sliced
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
A handful of feta cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 garlic clove, crushed with the flat side of a cutting knife
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup olive oil

Begin by prepping your vegetables. Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise, and use a spoon to remove all seeds.

Once seeded, thinly slice the cucumber.

The radishes I had were tiny, and I was afraid to try to thinly slice them without losing a finger. I used a mandolin slicer to slice the radishes as thin as possible. Be very careful not to get your fingers!

Add the sliced cucumber and radishes to a bowl. Zest the lemon into the same bowl.

Add the feta cheese and set aside.

In another bowl, combine the lemon juice, vinegar, dill, sugar, and garlic. Whisk until the sugar has dissolved. Season with salt and pepper.

Whisk in the oil in a slow, steady stream until emulsified.

That just means mixed so the vinegar/oil don’t separate

Add the vinaigrette to the cucumber mixture, tossing to coat. Make sure to discard the garlic before serving.

Even if this turned out to be the most offensive salad I’ve ever eaten, I’d still probably post it just so you could see how beautiful the salad is. Thankfully, the flavors worked really well together. The lemon soaked into the cucumbers and radishes adding a hint of citrus, the dill added a little earthiness to the dish, and the feta was a nice balance to the fresh vegetables. I am pleasantly surprised to say that I hope to make radishes a part of my normal ingredients during the spring!

Pear Arugula Salad with Walnuts and Parmesan

I found a recipe for Fig & Arugula Salad with Parmesan and really wanted to try it, but figs are not in season until September-ish. Comments for the recipe suggested using red pears as a substitute, so I tried it out. I also didn’t have any shallots so I nixed those, and added in some walnuts for a bit of crunch. The result was this Pear Arugula Salad with Walnuts and Parmesan!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 red pears, peeled, cored & chopped
6 cups trimmed arugula (about 6 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shaved fresh Parmesan cheese
A handful of walnuts

Combine the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and salt. Whisk to combine.

Very exciting photo, I know

Peel pears.

Cut in half and remove the seeds and stem. (You can use a melon baller or just a spoon)

Chop into bite-size pieces.

Add the pear pieces to the vinaigrette and toss to coat.

Cover and let marinate for 20 minutes. In another bowl, add the arugula.

You can add raw walnuts, or if you’re up for it, saute them in some butter until fragrant.

Remove and place on a paper towel to drain the butter.

Allow to cool and add to the arugula. Add the cheese. After 20 minutes, add the pear pieces.

This was really refreshing! I wish I could have made it with fresh figs, so I will have to attempt that again in the fall. There was just the right amount of sweetness from the pears, tangy-ness from the vinegar, crunch from the walnuts, and spice from the arugula. This would be a perfect summer dinner and a great spring board dish. Grilled salmon or chicken would be a great addition to this dish.

Pea & Bacon Risotto

I have been feeling exceptionally lazy and have been avoiding food shopping at all costs. Thankfully, the latest Food & Wine magazine allowed me to go one more day without getting more groceries. I happily had all of these ingredients on hand.

Ingredients:
6 ounces bacon, diced
2 cups frozen baby peas, thawed, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, minced (I used 1/2 of a leftover onion I had)
2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
7 cups simmering chicken stock
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper

I forgot to put the wine in this photo. Whoops

Warm the chicken stock in a saucepan on the stove over low heat.

In a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook over medium heat until soft, 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until the rice is evenly coated with the oil. Add the wine and simmer until almost evaporated, 3 minutes.

In another saute pan, cook the bacon over moderate heat until crisp, about 6 minutes.

Drain the bacon on paper towels; reserve 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat.

While the rice is absorbing the wine, puree half of the peas (1 cup) with 1 cup of water in a food processor. (I used my trusty Magic Bullet. Best Christmas present ever.

Not terribly appetizing..

Once the wine is absorbed, add enough hot stock to just cover the rice and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the stock has been absorbed. Add more stock, enough to cover the rice.

You can tell I burnt some of the onions…

Continue cooking and stirring, adding more stock as it is absorbed, until the rice is creamy, about 25 minutes.

The rice really expands!

Add the pea puree, the remaining peas and the bacon and cook, stirring, until hot.

Remove the risotto from the heat and stir in the butter, reserved bacon fat, cheese and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.

This was very satisfying, especially for not having to buy any ingredients. I think I’d like it with a bit more cheese, just as a topping upon serving. To take advantage of the spring season’s fresh vegetables, you could substitute in asparagus, or maybe just add some fresh asparagus to the dish.

Risotto is a great go-to meal on week days because it always takes about 30 minutes to make. I haven’t typed up many risotto recipes yet, but you can expect them in the future.