You walk in to a gourmet fresh produce market with raisins dried on the vine, exotic fruits, fresh vegetables, and a free vegetable butchering service. Turn to the right and approach a coffee bar, then a snack bar, an ice cream shop, chocolate shop, and home goods specialty shop. Head up to the second floor and enter a brewery, winery, olive oil shop, bakery, cooking school, pizzeria, vegetable restaurant, fish market and restaurant, cheese shop, fresh pasta shop, butcher counter, salumi shop… I’m definitely forgetting a number of “shops” under this two-story department store sized restaurant and marketplace. But, hopefully you get my point if you haven’t had the pleasure of visiting EATALY in NYC, Chicago, or any of its other European, Middle Eastern, or Asian locations.
Sean and I did a really quick reconnaissance after enjoying The Publican, and decided to return the next day for lunch.
We chose to dine at the Verduri restaurant, and started with their Bruschetta del Giorno.
And a couple glasses of rosé in EATALY glasses (available for purchase, of course).
Next came the Asparagi dish with a beautifully fried egg on top.
We followed that with Verdure Piastra, which was essentially a big serving of farro topped with roasted veggies.
And chef had to try their Green Pea Farrotto, as he’d just been talking about wanting to put a Farrotto on his own menu at Zeal.
The verdict? The Farrotto, which is essentially a risotto-style dish made with farro rather than rice, seemed to be rapidly prepared rather than slowly cooked the way this labor intensive dish is best made for a creamy, delectable experience. It seemed like pre-cooked farro was added to a pea broth rather than cooked in a broth over a long period of time. But, the flavor was good. The Verdure Piastra was a HUGE portion of food, yet priced the same as the Farrotto. This seemed off to us. And in the end, lunch cost $130 including tax and tip. That’s a pretty expensive lunch!
I was inspired by my friend Jennifer from
The Adventuresome Kitchen to make her Sweet Potato Risotto with Mushrooms and Kale. All I can say is this is one of my new favorite recipes. I followed her
instructions exactly except I had no mushrooms, and I used white sweet potatoes rather than the garnet or “orange” variety.
Come to think of it, I have mushrooms, sweet potatoes, and kale in the house right now… might make this tonight.
This meal is a masterpiece, so be prepared to spend more than an hour in the kitchen and at least 25 minutes almost constantly stirring the pot. If that sounds like a challenge you are willing to try, please consider making this delicious risotto.
I used shiitake, cremini, and oyster mushrooms from
Hazel Dell. If you do not live in the Boulder area, please look into finding a local supplier of mushrooms near you. Once they reach a supermarket they just aren’t the same.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 pound mixed mushrooms
- 1 bulb fennel
- 1 medium sized yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 4 TB butter
- 4 TB olive oil
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 2 cups Arborio rice
- 1 quart veggie broth (chicken broth will work if you are not a vegetarian)
- water- 3-4 cups (or more, depending on how long it takes to cook the rice)
- 5 TB heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- freshly ground black pepper
To make this whole process go more smoothly, prep the mushrooms and fennel first. This way, you will have them cooked and ready to go so they can be added to the risotto when it is almost done. This will make life a lot easier for a dish like this.
First, chop the onion. Cut off the fennel bulb from its stalks, peel apart the layers, wash, and chop into pieces roughly the size of your well-chopped onion.
Next, mince the garlic. Rinse the mushrooms and chop them into a size you like. I prefer smaller pieces, so I made mine small. However, if you are a real mushroom-lover, feel free to use larger pieces.
In a large pot (I used a 6 quart stock pot), add 1 TB butter. Melt the butter on medium-high and add the onion. When they are just getting tender, add the fennel and cook this on medium low for 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
While you’re working the fennel, start the mushrooms. In a saute pan, heat 1 TB butter and 1 TB olive oil on medium-high. Add the mushrooms and saute a few minutes before adding the white wine. Turn heat down to medium and cook 10 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook for 5 more minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat.
In a separate bowl, combine the fennel/onions and mushrooms/garlic to be added to the risotto later. Set this aside and take a breath.
Now, to start the risotto-
Pour the broth and 3 cups of water into a large pot. Not the one you may have used for the fennel- you will need two large pots for this major production. 1 for the risotto and 1 to keep boiling hot broth and water ready to be added, ladle-full by ladle-full, into the risotto. Bring the broth to a boil and keep it boiling.
Go back to your 6 quart pot that the fennel was in (but is no longer in because it has been mixed into the mushrooms). Add 2 TB butter and melt on medium high heat. When it melts, add 3 TB olive oil and mix well into the butter. Add the rice and coat with the oil/butter mixture. After a couple minutes, add 2-3 ladles of boiling broth. From now on you will need to stir almost constantly. Keep stirring and adding more broth as the liquid is absorbed. Continue this process for 25 minutes or so. If you need to add more water to the broth because you are running out of liquid, do so. But, be careful. Keep the broth boiling so you always add boiling water to the risotto.
Check the texture of the rice after 25 minutes. Add the mushrooms and fennel mixture and mix well. Keep adding broth and stirring until the rice is tender but just slightly al dente. At this point, turn the heat all the way down to low and add the cream. Stir it in well and then add the grated parmesan cheese. Garnish with freshly ground black pepper, and enjoy.
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This meal is a masterpiece, so be prepared to spend more than an hour in the kitchen and at least 25 minutes almost constantly stirring the pot. If that sounds like a challenge you are willing to try, please consider making this delicious risotto.
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