When I was 11, I made truffle risotto for my family for Christmas dinner.
Recently I've been doing risottos. Some of them have been amazing. Some of them, not all of them.
If I'm in Italy at a certain time of year, I'll make sure to try fresh porcini mushrooms in risotto, or puntarelle, a sort of curled chicory leaf that's only available for a few weeks in May.
If I eat at the Emporio Armani Caffe, my favorite thing to order is risotto or pasta with tomato sauce in winter; in summer, I prefer a Caprese salad, Parmigiano cheese flakes, or some truly fresh ricotta cheese.
A quick shallow fry is a great way to transform leftovers, and no more so than in the case of risotto.
Italian food is my favorite food. It's the most sophisticated eating system.
Cooking is about the ingredients and responding, but risotto, specifically, is about the technique.
I love Italian food.
I like Italian food.
My favorite foods are anything Italian.
That's the beauty of risotto. You can make it any flavor you want. It's a great carrier.
The food was so good that with each passing course, our conversation devolved further into fragmented celebrations of its deliciousness: 'I want this dragon carrot risotto to become a person so I can take it to Las Vegas and marry it.
Unlike leftover pasta, leftover risotto is viewed by Italians as a gift. Cooks shape it into balls or stuff it with a pinch of stewed meat or cheese. Then they bread and deep-fry the fritters until golden brown, yielding arancini, the indulgent 'little oranges' I can never resist.
