Penne Risotto with Beef Short Rib

Dear Michelle,

I wonder why it is that twice now, when I'd like to relate to you a recipe by Patricia Wells, it will end up being a short post? An hour must be sufficient for me to write this, as I'll soon be on my way to meet my mother at noon, but this must be shared! I've already told you how I feel about Wells, so I'll not go into that again. Suffice to say that the following recipe for penne risotto is one of my favorites, not just of her recipes but of meals to make in general, and like regular risotto, it can be varied infinite ways.


The impetus for this came from a half-pound of beef short rib Jeff brought home from our favorite neighborhood butcher. As you know, there's not too much you can do with a half-pound of short rib; it's a bit like having 3 pieces of bacon, that is to say, delicious but not a whole lot of meat. However, when faced with that bit of discouraging information regarding his meant-to-be-exciting-surprise-purchase, he accessed his talent for coming up with terrific meals to suggest penne risotto, a favorite of his we'd not had in a while.

The basic idea of penne risotto is that of regular risotto. You toast the pasta in oil, add seasonings, then add broth slowly. The result is tender, perfectly al-dente pasta that is coated in rich, flavorful, almost silky sauce. This goes well with so many things: roasted vegetables in the summer, artichoke hearts, asparagus; the variations are endless. This time, it went perfectly with short rib. I'd cooked the short rib simply in white wine, herbes de Provence, onion and carrot, then shredded it and added the liquid, vegetables, and meat to the chicken stock I'd bought (chicken because it's a little lighter, but one could certainly use beef, or even vegetable stock), then added the meat and veggies when I was almost through adding stock. Now, I might go buy a half-pound of shortrib just for this! It was the perfect amount of meat (plus a half-pound is pretty cheap), and the additional carrots I added towards the end balanced it out well.



Penne Risotto with Beef Shortrib

Penne risotto recipe is from Patricia Wells at Home in Provence, pg 144-145. The below recipe is hers (as always, paraphrased by me. Seems wrong to copy word for word), with my notes in parentheses.

About 2 1/2 quarts stock
1lb dried Italian tubular pasta (works with any pasta; orzo is especially nice)
1/2 c extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 t fine sea salt
4 T tomato paste
2 T finely chopped rosemary leaves (I used dry herbes de Provence, sometimes rosemary, sometimes thyme when I have fresh; let this be dictated by what else you are adding, what you have, and how you feel)
1/4 t crushed dried red pepper (I sometimes omit)
2 t good red wine vinegar
1/2 c grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (or another good, dry, hard cheese, finely grated)

Heat stock till barely simmering (here, I added short rib liquid and guessed as to how much. It was fine. If you run out of liquid just heat more up. Directions for cooking short rib below). In a large skillet (LARGE- otherwise there will be overflow. Trust me), heat oil over moderately high heat. When hot but not smoking, add the pasta, stirring till until it begins to brown lightly.



Season with salt and add tomato paste and rosemary, stirring constantly until pasta is evenly coated with sauce (allowing the tomato paste to brown lightly as well will add a very rich flavor). Slowly add a ladelful of stock, stirring until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn heat to medium; you want to maintain a simmer. Pasta should cook slowly. Just before it looks dry, add another ladeful of stock. Continue until pasta is tender. It will feel springy to the touch, and have just a little bit of resistance when bitten. (I added additional diced carrot about halfway through. Here's where I would add any vegetable, except those roasting in the oven, which I would stir in with about 5 minutes to go. How do I know when that is? The pasta is almost done, a little too hard to the bite; one more ladelful will do it. This is also the time at which I added the short rib meat). Add vinegar and additional seasoning to taste. (the vinegar helps to balance the richness. It makes a huge difference!). Stir in half the cheese. Serve in warmed bowls or dishes, sprinkling on the rest of the cheese. (Reheats very well- so much better than buying lunch out!)

Short Rib

We think of beef as traditionally cooked in red wine, but I wanted something a little lighter for this. There is a French dish called Provencal daube in which it is cooked in white wine, so I figured that would work out fine. And it did. Maybe I'll try making the daube sometime soon, before it gets warm out.

1/2 lb short rib
white wine
herbs
1 carrot
1 onion

Brown short rib in skillet. Set aside.
Dice and saute one half onion (or whole small onion) and one carrot.



Put beef, and juices, in a container small enough that you don't need to add the whole bottle of wine to cover, or almost cover, the meat. I only had a bowl that was a little too small (or way too large), so the beef wasn't quite covered. I kept turning it. It was fine. Add veggies, a sprinkling of herbs, salt and pepper, and wine to cover (or almost).


Cook at 200F for a few hours, until it starts to fall apart.

(Some notes paraphrased from the nerdy cook's favorite book, One Food and Cooking by Harold McGee: Pieces of meat like short rib are naturally tough because of the presence of connective tissue. Braising will make them tender and succulent. The connective tissue will turn into gelatin [what makes the meat succulent] at 160-180F. So, once meat is browned for flavor, cook at a gentle, low heat for best results. That is also why I do not preheat the oven here, which is fine if you have plenty of time)

Simple Yellow Squash and Mushroom Penne

Dear Devon,

Cooking in someone else's kitchen is always a challenge. When you walk in, you don't know what you'll find. The simplest dishes can seem overwhelming when you don't have your favorite knife or trusty pan. Best case scenario, the kitchen is better supplied than the corner restaurant, offering an army of pans, gadgets, utensils, spices and herbs, salts and oils. In my experience, these kitchens are rare birds. Most have the requisite skillet, pot, and baking tray with maybe a wooden spoon or a spatula or two. These are the situations that really test me. I have to adjust how I cook to a new environment, which leads to innovative uses of limited resources and sometimes absurd situations. I love the challenge!

For the past few weeks, I've been staying at a friend's apartment. Her place is nicely situated on the main drag of a bustling neighborhood in Brooklyn. The food culture is amazing and really accessible. I've taken to eating out a lot during my stay, but occasionally, I do fire up the stove. The kitchen is tucked into a tiny corner of the apartment. It contains the mandatory stove, sink, and fridge...but not much else. A cutting board takes up the entire counter space. The stove is possibly the smallest I've ever seen. And most amazingly, her microwave is a toaster too!! It toasts amazingly well for a two in one unit. At the moment, the biggest challenge is getting the pan on the stove. The burners are placed so close together that the pan actually straddles several burners. Fitting a pan and a pot on the stove is a tight squeeze. But somehow, I've managed to figure out a way to control the temperature and cook some pretty fantastic food.


I didn't want the first meal I prepared in this kitchen, other than cereal, to be too strenuous. This simple yellow squash and mushroom penne was the perfect place to start. Simple in its execution; a pretty basic recipe. It allowed me to get a feel for the kitchen- how to set myself up, the pitfalls of the over-sized pan, etc. I must admit, a small kitchen isn't that bad. I'm an arm's distance away from the sink and the stove. In one spot, I can chop onions, wash squash, and saute mushrooms.

I didn't really think too much about this dish before I made it. It came together pretty organically. Both the squash and mushrooms looked nice at the store, so I bought them without any real intentions. I love mushrooms sauteed in a bit of butter and sprinkled with salt. The mushrooms exude a wonderful earthy flavor and become almost meat-like. The yellow squash with its delicate flavor and light texture pairs nicely with the dark tones of the mushroom. I browned both in melted butter to give them a nuttiness and a bit of color. I finished off the pasta with a light sauce made simply by deglazing the pan with a bit of red wine. Parsley lends a bit of freshness and olive oil for richness.

I suppose, it really isn't about how good your pans are or the size of your kitchen. In the end, fresh ingredients, a bit of organization, and basic cooking techniques can take you a long way.

Yellow Squash and Mushroom Penne
serves 2

two small yellow squash, sliced
5 oz. small mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 c. white onion, chopped
1 tbsp butter
1/3 cup parsley, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup red wine
1/2 cup pasta water
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
penne

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add enough penne for two servings.

In a large skillet, melt butter. Gently cook the onion and garlic until translucent. Add the squash and mushrooms. Spread out the mushrooms and squash into a single layer. Cook over a medium low flame, browning the squash and mushrooms on both sides. Sprinkle liberally with salt and toss. Add wine and pasta water to the skillet. Reduce the liquid until about half. Add cooked pasta, olive oil, and chopped parsley. Toss to distribute evenly.