Pancetta & Brussels Sprouts Risotto

Once again single, I found myself swiping left and right on dating apps a few months ago, armed with a firm resolution not to retreat from the world—or worse, develop a personality based entirely on my algorithm. The apps themselves hadn’t evolved much. There were more features, more ways to call, video chat, and simulate intimacy without ever committing to a drink. My enduring beef with the disappearance of real-life encounters I’ll save for another time.

Dating apps are entertaining, or at the very least, intellectually taxing. Profiles announcing “I have a Tesla” or listing the precise number of passport stamps like professional credentials rarely read as impressive. They feel less like flirtation and more like a quarterly report. If a car is the headline, one wonders whether the subtext is simply efficiency. There are, after all, more direct ways to transact.

The passport stamps intrigued me more, though not in a romantic way. They triggered a cascade of questions. Are we talking lifetime stamps or just the current passport? Unique destinations or repeat entries? The framing unsettled me. I don’t travel to collect evidence. I travel to linger, to return, to sit in the same café twice and notice different things. I cannot imagine a relationship with someone who refuses to revisit Paris because the stamp has already been earned. That, quite simply, would never work.

Teslas and passport tallies began to feel like symptoms of something larger: our collective fixation on winning. We curate our lives for comparison, for validation, for the quiet hope of being envied. I forget this myself at times. Contentment doesn’t require outpacing someone else. What fills one person’s sphere may feel excessive or hollow in another. The problem arises when we confuse accumulation with satisfaction.

served with salmon

Simple pleasures are often overshadowed by spectacle. Comfort is dismissed in favor of novelty, familiarity traded for the promise of something new. I am learning to lean unapologetically into habit, to treat craving as a form of intelligence. Risotto is one of those comforts for me. It is rhythmic, forgiving, and timeless in its ability to soothe. Of all the ways to dress up this bowl of calm, pancetta and Brussels sprouts remain my most enduring obsession.

Ingredients matter here. The quality of the pancetta and cheese can make or break the dish, so this is not the moment for restraint. Splurge a little. You’ll taste the difference.

INGREDIENTS
[serves 2 as a main course or 3 as a side]

a half cup of arborio rice

a half cup of sliced Brussels sprouts (add more if you prefer a stronger vegetable presence)

twenty ounces of chicken broth

a third cup of white wine

one and a half ounces of diced pancetta

a quarter cup of freshly grated gruyere

a quarter cup of freshly grated pecorino

an eighth cup of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

olive oil, enough to drizzle

Pour the chicken broth into a saucepan over high heat and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer. You will likely have leftover broth, which is intentional. Heat a frying pan over high heat. Once hot, add the diced pancetta. Sauté, reducing the heat to medium, and cook for two to three minutes until crisp. Add the sliced Brussels sprouts, stir, and sauté until just cooked. Transfer to a paper towel–lined plate and set aside.

Heat a Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot over high heat. Lightly drizzle the bottom with olive oil. Add the arborio rice, reduce the heat to medium, and stir to lightly toast the grains for about two minutes. Add the white wine and stir until the wine is mostly absorbed. Add one ladle of chicken broth, stirring occasionally until absorbed. Continue adding broth one ladle at a time, allowing the liquid to absorb before adding more, until the rice is al dente.

As the rice nears doneness, reduce the broth to a half ladle at a time, allowing each addition to absorb before adding more. You may not need all the broth. The risotto should be creamy and slightly loose, as it will continue to thicken as it rests. Total cooking time will be about 15 to 25 minutes. Once the rice is al dente and the texture is silky, stir in a handful of the mixed cheeses and turn off the heat.

Add the reserved pancetta and Brussels sprouts. Stir gently, incorporating the remaining cheese to taste. Serve immediately. Bon Appétit!

_____

Looking East: Vietnamese Style Flank Steak, savory-forward, rooted in Vietnamese flavors.

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