I had a luxurious 10 days off during the holidays, which gave me lots of time to do two of my favorite things – get together with friends and family and cook, usually combining the two. One such occasion was getting together with my niece Katherine and her family for our traditional post-Christmas Christmas.
Having had our fill of abundant, heavy holiday fare, we decided to keep dinner on the simple side – risotto and a salad. I typically consider risotto more of a cold-weather dish, because it’s warm, hearty, and comforting. Of all the risottos I’ve made over the years, none are as wonderfully wintery as Braised Wild Mushrooms with Red Wine Risotto from Gordon Hamersley’s Bistro Cooking at Home.
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There are a handful of dishes I consider winter traditions and that I make, without fail, every year. Pasta e Fagioli from The Campagna Table is one of those recipes.
Part soup, part stew, this Italian dish of beans and pasta has a lot going for it. First, it’s a great cold-weather meal when you want something hearty, healthy, and comforting. The combination of pasta and beans, in fact, makes a complete protein. If you wanted to go completely vegetarian, you can leave out the bacon (unimaginable, to me!) and opt to make the dish with vegetable broth instead of chicken stock.
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