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.

served with salmon

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.

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!

_____

More recipes:

Inspired by Bar Santos: Piri Piri Sauce

Shrimp & Kimchi Inari

Japchae, aka Stir-Fried Korean Glass Noodles

Vietnamese Style Flank Steak

Lemon Honey & Soy Sauce Chicken

ESSAYS | RECIPES | STYLES | IG

Articles sélectionnés

I earn commission on qualified purchases.

Comments

Is Feminism Destroying Us?

Are you bothered by the question? More than two decades ago, a dear friend, Andrea, ten years my senior, confided that she believed feminists had destroyed our lives. Back then, work-life balance did not exist. Back then, I was asked to terminate an employee simply because she was pregnant. at Laguna Art Museum I didn't. I also didn't exactly refuse. I told the company that it was more than welcome to terminate her, but as her direct manager, I saw no performance-related reason to end her employment and therefore would not sign her separation papers. If executive management wanted to terminate her, I would accept its decision. I simply would not lend my name to it. She was not terminated. I didn't refuse to sign because I was advocating for her rights. I refused because there was no reason to terminate her. I had terminated other employees for poor performance; pregnancy was not poor performance. And the order hadn't come from a man. It came from my boss, who was a woma...

Homemade Balsamic Glaze

There are ingredients that demand complexity, and then there are ingredients that reward quiet. Balsamic glaze belongs firmly in the latter category. At its core, it is nothing more than vinegar reduced with a touch of sugar. No emulsions. No elaborate technique. Just heat transforming sharpness into depth. As the vinegar simmers, it thickens into something darker, glossier, and quietly dramatic. A proper balsamic reduction carries contrast. It is sweet, but not cloying. Acidic, but softened. It pools against burrata, streaks across roasted vegetables, finishes a steak, and cuts through the richness of duck with precision. It does not overwhelm. It punctuates. And unlike many bottled versions, which can taste flat or syrupy, a homemade glaze retains the complexity of the vinegar itself. The flavor concentrates. The texture becomes silkier. The control is yours. INGREDIENTS a half cup of balsamic vinegar one and a half teaspoons of sugar In a small saucepan, combine the balsamic...

Who Investigated the Alleged Cornell Gang Rape?

This morning, my mind froze as I read about an alleged gang rape involving eight Cornell University students that occurred nearly two years ago, in 2024. Most of us learned the details only after Jane Doe filed a civil lawsuit on September 14, 2026, in New York State Supreme Court, New York County, against Matthew Ingalls, Johnathan Newell, Winston Lee, Gillio Lopes, Diego Sarabia, Scott Norris, and Scott Kretzschmar, alleging that the seven men raped her while they were students at Cornell University. The alleged assault occurred during the night of October 19 into the morning of October 20, 2024. Jane Doe later reported the incident to Cornell University Police. Cornell separately conducted its own disciplinary investigation, followed by hearings under its Title IX process, while Cornell University Police conducted the criminal investigation that was referred to the Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office. at LACMA No criminal charges followed. The District Attorney’s Office did n...

Let's Unite With Intelligence, Not Emotions

It has been difficult to watch as the alleged Cornell University gang rape saga unfolds. I am not minimizing what allegedly happened. As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and domestic violence as an adult, I do not take what allegedly happened lightly. What happened to Jane Doe, I know she will never be able to escape—physically, mentally, or emotionally. I know her thoughts must take her to the darkest and cruelest moments, moments that at times must feel as though they will never end. I have learned to accept those moments myself, the shame and rage turning so rapidly that eventually they become numbness, until something triggers them again. I have also learned that the numbness is when it becomes dangerous, when the conflict that keeps us “feeling” is subdued and settles into an acceptance: I am damaged. Forever. So I know it is difficult—nearly impossible for some of us, and for legitimate reasons—to leave our emotions out of what allegedly happened beginning on October 19, 202...

From Thongs To Guns, Where Are the Parents?

It was more than two decades ago, when Victoria’s Secret was hot. A simpler time, when humanity’s fight for survival against artificial intelligence was a movie plot and not something we debate in real life. Dancer Resting by Edgar Degas at Norton Simon, Pasadena, California I was waiting in line at Victoria’s Secret, minding my own business, when I noticed a group of young girls picking through lacy thongs. Not that I am a prude, but it bothered me. It is difficult for me to imagine lacy thongs being appropriate for young girls. They are performative underwear, designed for sexual allure, or at the very least sexual confidence. No child should need to feel sexually desirable. Where were their parents? How were they paying for them? Who was doing their laundry? They could not have been more than fifteen years old. One of them was pushing a stroller while cooing at a baby. I instinctively thought how adorable. An older sister taking care of her baby sibling. Then I heard something...

Shiso Pork Belly Rice

One of my recent obsessions has been a pot of perfectly cooked rice, an obsession I had to put on hold once Los Angeles began suffering through extreme heat. While I love my rice cooker, there is something undeniably foodgasmic about rice made in a thick clay or stone pot . Add pork, mushrooms, bean sprouts, mu (Korean radish), shiso, or whatever vegetables you desire, and you have the perfect one-pot meal. Many rice pots welcome gochujang or sesame oil at the table. This one does not need either. Served with ssamjang and lettuce This Shiso Pork Belly Rice is one of my recent favorites. Pork belly does more than give the dish meat. As its fat renders at the bottom of the pot, that richness works its way into the rice above it. Shiso plays a different role here than it would scattered fresh over a finished dish. Cooked with the rice, its assertive herbal character softens and perfumes the grains rather than announcing itself from the first bite. Napa cabbage brings a little sweetness...

No Rice, No Deal Stir-Fry Bowl

For a while, I restrained myself from using salt and pepper in my cooking, partly because I had come to think of them as the two most overused seasonings, capable of keeping a dish from becoming more interesting than the obvious. At one point, I even wondered whether I had developed a sensitivity to salt; the slightest over-seasoning began tasting bitter to me. Salty filets at Michael Mina at Bellagio and Delilah at Wynn Las Vegas last year did little to repair the relationship. Trust me, an overly salted filet at an upscale restaurant is its own particular trauma, quite different from realizing the horrible flavor of McDonald’s new limited-edition Spicy Chicken McNuggets. I never abandoned salt entirely. I continued using it to enhance other spices and ingredients, but deliberately salty flavors, even those built around soy sauce, became increasingly rare in my kitchen. Ceramic bowl was wheel-thrown and glazed by me. Until recently. No Rice, No Deal Stir-Fry Bowl is deliberately veg...

What If I Told You Tolerance Is Insane

A few years ago, I worked as a Project Manager for a marketing agency. What most people did not know was that I wasn’t simply managing marketing projects. Part of my job was to conduct root-cause analysis and privately address what I found with the VP of Operations. The agency was losing clients, and part of my assignment was to conduct root-cause analysis within the PMO. No one ever told me the two were connected, but I wondered whether leadership believed they might be. Ganna Walska Lotusland I worked alongside another Project Manager, a smart guy with a project management certification whose vertical happened to be one of the problematic ones. He didn’t know that evaluating his project pipeline was part of my assignment. His failure to follow project management best practices had already been escalated. He also had reluctance to escalate problems early enough to keep them from affecting clients. One Client Success Manager was a recurring problem. She routinely failed to turn in ...

Seafood Jajang Deopbap

Jajang, born from Chinese zhajiangmian and transformed in Korea into the rich, dark sauce made with chunjang, has become woven into the fabric of Korean everyday life. What began as an adapted working-class meal of black bean sauce (jajang) over noodles (myeon) in port cities has evolved into a national comfort food, synonymous with quick delivery, moving days, and casual family meals. Jajangmyeon was the pizza and burgers of my childhood. End-of-school semesters and good test scores were acknowledged with jajangmyeon. My grandparents always had it delivered when I stayed with them during school breaks, a proper opening to days of my grandmother’s home-cooked meals to come. Ceramic bowls were wheel-thrown and glazed by me. Its presence is as cultural as it is culinary: from shared bowls among students and office workers to its symbolic role on Black Day, when singles gather to eat jajangmyeon together. It is the unofficially official meal on moving day. More than just a sauce, jajang r...

Curated Boots: From Ankle to Attitude

My first real memory of fashion begins with boots. I was still in elementary school, before my family immigrated to the United States, when my mom had a winter suit custom-made for me: dark red, two pieces, a blazer paired with a pleated mini skirt. Then came the styling decision that mattered most to me, a pair of red knee-high boots. For a little girl, the look was rather fashion-forward, and I adored it. I wore those boots practically everywhere, long after the suit had ceased to be the point. I have insisted on boots ever since, with a fairly consistent personal rule: the longer, the better. at Donum Estate, Sonoma, California There was, as it turns out, some fashion logic behind my childhood obsession. Boots have always carried more weight than most shoes, literally and symbolically. Born from utility, riding, military dress, and protection, they became increasingly expressive as women’s fashion changed, particularly in the 1960s, when rising hemlines gave tall boots new authority...

Exhaling Life

Search This Blog