Chock-full of fresh veggies, this Italian classic has made it into our short list of winter staples. It’s particularly well suited to the holiday season as a healthy counterpoint to all the cookies.
Source improved upon public domain Difficulty trivial Time 20 min preparation, 35 min cooking Serves 2
Minestrone, the mother of all vegetable soups.
In its simplest form, this Italian classic consists merely of spaghetti dressed in garlic (aglio) and olive oil (olio), though chili flakes and parsley are a common addition. We’ve replaced the flakes with fresh chili, reinforced the olive taste with actual olives, and heightened the addiction factor with toasted pine nuts. One of our more sinful creations — be sure to combine it with some lazy veggies to balance it out!
Source improved upon public domain Difficulty trivial Time 25 min Serves 2
Mmmm…
Among the many delicious options for enriching the basic risotto recipe, tomatoes are a classic choice, and pine nuts round out their taste just perfectly. With its built-in portion of vegetables, this risotto can easily stand on its own as a dinner meal, but also works nicely as a sophisticated side dish.
Source improved on public domain Difficulty easy Time 35 min Serves 2 as a main dish, 3–4 as a side dish
Tomato and pine-nut risotto.
An incredibly versatile dish, risotto bears an undeserved reputation of being challenging to cook. Admittedly, it can go wrong more easily than macaroni and cheese, but that can be avoided with just a bit of preparation and diligence. Although commonly used as a mere side dish, this «plain» risotto may well eclipse whatever fancy main course you’re inflicting it upon. Risotto can also be turned into a complete dinner with the inclusion of a few vegetables and herbs — in fact, I have a few particularly good combinations lined up for future posts —, but here I’ll concentrate on perfecting it in its purest form.
Source public domain plus some improvements Difficulty way easier than its reputation, but does demand your full attention for a while Time 30 min Serves 3–4 as a side dish; 2 as a main dish with some salad or vegetables on the side
Prosecco and shallot risotto… sorry for the bad photo, I was too hungry to do better. I’ll try again next time. ;o)
a nerd walks into a kitchen 