Summery Corn Risotto with a Dash of Pancetta & Fennel

Why eat carbs with carbs, like rice with corn?  Or pizza with potato?  Because who's really counting if it tastes good?  Sweet corn, even local, is around early in the Summer now, and when it's good I walk an ever thinner line of under cooking so as not to mess with it, just something so I can say it's not completely raw.  Here it's just barely altered at the end of the risotto cooking process, staying crunchy and accented by the familiar flavor of butter, like the stick of which I used to roll ears in growing up.  

The addition of the sauteed fennel and pancetta is optional...what I like is that anise complexity of fennel quickly sauteed yet still sort of crunchy, and the porcine salinity of unsmoked pancetta.  I think they play well off the buttery, sweet corn and the creamy rice. 

You don't necessarily need a rich broth or stock with which to craft fine risotto, water itself is a perfectly good vehicle.  When I made this I had a rind of parm leftover, so I put it in my simmering water shortly before I began the risotto process, to good effect. 

2 cups Carnaroli, Vialone Nano or Arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 ears of sweet corn, kernels cut off

1 head of fennel, medium diced

1/4 lb. pancetta, medium diced

1 liter water or stock

optional: Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano rind to flavor broth

1 small onion, finely diced

Salt and Pepper to taste

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus 2 for the pancetta and fennel

2-3 tablespoons butter cut into 1/2 inch or so cubes

Parmigiano Reggiano to taste

Handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped

Bring the water (rind or not) or stock to a boil, then let it simmer.  Season, if need be, so it's very mildly salty. 

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a saute pan, and add the pancetta while the pan is still heating up.  Allow the pancetta to render some of its fat and when it begins to brown, add the fennel and raise the heat to high.  Cook, tossing or mixing occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until the fennel has taken on some color and is soft but not mushy, and the pancetta slightly crispy.  Remove from heat and set aside. 

Heat the remaining olive oil over medium heat and when it shimmers add the onion, sweating for a couple minutes until translucent, then add the rice.  Cook it, stirring frequently, until it begins to brown ever so slightly, mindful not to let the onions burn.  At this point add the wine, letting it almost completely dissolve, then begin adding ladles of broth to just cover the rice.  Stir or shake the pan occasionally, adding more liquid when it looks like it needs it. 

Check for doneness at around 20 minutes, and assuming it's close, add the raw corn kernels to the risotto.  When the rice is pleasantly al dente, turn off the heat and stir the butter in.  Begin grating the Parmigiano in and taste it after a few tablespoons' worth to see if it's to your liking.  The risotto at this point should be creamy and not too dry.  Add a little broth if it seems too tight.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and add the parsley. 

Serve the risotto with some of the fennel and pancetta on top, allowing diners to mix it in themselves.  Serve with extra Parmigiano Reggiano to garnish.       

Cozy Latino-Med Fusion: Bella Pasta, SoNo

Situated right next to O'Neill's on the fringes of SoNo since November of last year, Bella Pasta recently held a Grand Opening to officially launch chef/owner Jose Rodriguez's Nuevo Latino and Mediterranean Fusion concept.

Born and raised in Riobamba, Ecuador, Jose owned a successful restaurant there in his early twenties before immigrating to New York City to broaden his culinary horizons.

After paying his dues on the line there he spent time in various European kitchens and then settled in Connecticut, where, with his two brothers, he's opened several successful Latin and Spanish restaurants, most recently Costa Brava of Norwalk.

During a brief chat with him to see how he would express this trend at Bella Pasta, Jose said "Nuevo Latino to me means no more rice and beans...there's nothing wrong with them, but we're aiming for better presentation and better flavors. In Ecuador we had a rich tradition of seafood from the Pacific, and my grandfather taught me to grow a variety of vegetables, so we truly ate farm to table...we even made our own cheese."

This latest permutation of his style and background is about representing Pan Latin cuisine as well as that of the Mediterranean on the same menu, fusing the many styles encompassed therein as he pleases. For instance, Jose told me "I love the flavor of Broccoli Rabe with sausage and pasta, but I use Spanish Chorizo instead of Italian Sausage because I think it works even better." A concept that is nuevo without raising too many eyebrows, and with such a vast repetoire Jose's interpretations can evolve to seemingly no end.

After a ribbon cutting ceremony with the Mayor of Norwalk, Richard Moccia, all the dignitaries in attendance like myself were welcomed to enjoy a sampling of Jose's typical and atypical dishes.

Looking at the spread spanning the bar, what immediately lured me in were the cold seafood plates...lemon cured Ceviche with clams, shrimp, whitefish and squid, perfectly and uniformly tender, with a bit of spice and the raw verve of fresh cilantro...the Mediterranean staple of Baccalá with fresh tomato and briny olives...Mussels served in their shells surrounded by lemon juice and olive oil, a good bit of jalapeno complimenting rather than overpowering their flavor.

Ricotta filled Empanadas brought me back to a fond memory of fried calzones I once had...sweet, soft dairy warmed through in the quick fry of the buttery and salty dough.

To drink were multi-colored Sangrias from the bar; the red one I chose tasted of tropical fruit with bits of orange and apple mingling about. The super cas[ual] and simpático atmosphere was evident in the little umbrellas propped in every glass.

The space is pretty open, with lacquered tables done up to look like Rioja, Malbec and other labels branded into wine crates. A little faux opening of a wood oven surrounded by stone façade caught my eye entering the dining room for the first time...perhaps for a more suitable feeling of warmth when the equatorial cuisines are a harder sell in CT’s winter months. Or maybe just a trick to get passers-by in since wood-burning ovens are all the rage nowadays. They have outdoor seating comprised of about half a dozen tables for two on the sidewalk in front.

The one pasta dish present was gluten-free Penne Salad featuring a mix of cauliflower, carrot and asparagus, simply blanched and left crispy, tossed with extra virgin olive oil.

Another station I couldn't resist was centered around a slab of deep amber colored Perníl…crunchy skin and fat and all, resounding with whole pig flavor, layered between slices of Focaccia with caramelized onions and raw tomato. Somewhere between Cuban Sandwich and Panino...most importantly, nowhere to go but good.

Even though it was only casual lunch on a weekday, being a drink or two and several small plates in, I'd have been remiss neglecting the desserts...chilled Peach Flan was custard perfection; smooth as can be and sitting in a pool of intensely sweet caramel syrup. Piña Colada Cheesecake on the other hand was dense and salty/sweet with a thick and moist cookie crust, studded with crunchy bits of pineapple.

With refreshing drinks flowing and simple brightly flavored seafood dishes abounding at Bella Pasta, the mood was set for Summer. I'll be back to see what chef comes up with in the seasons and fusions ahead.

Bella Pasta is located at 91 North Main Street in Norwalk. Open for lunch and dinner daily.

(203) 853-6000

http://www.bellapastarestaurant.com/

Fresh Tabouls & Chadrools: Tabouli Grill, Southport

Anyone who knows me doesn't necessarily know I flove North African and Middle Eastern food...bold spices, chickpeas, heat, fresh flavors of lemon, cilantro and parsley, olives and their oil, lots of fried things...

To say Middle Eastern Food generally refers to a genre too vast to be considered one cuisine, but I like lots of what I know from Morocco to Egypt to Lebanon to Turkey, and everything in between.  I've never been to that part of the world, nor am I an expert in it, but I do know that many of the dishes appear in variations on the same theme from country to country over a wide area.  Falafel, for instance, may be made with chickpeas only in one place, but with chickpeas and/or favas in another.  And the name may change by a few letters and punctuation marks too.      

Anyway, Fairfield already had a newcomer Turkish place and a Pan Mideastern with Syrian twist place, but recently added to them is Tabouli Grill, which is distinguished by its focus on freshly made and all natural, where possible, takes on the Lebanese, Israeli and Egyptian ways of eating.  Not one to espouse any border disputes though, it considers itself a Mediterranean restaurant. 

When we walked right in and snagged the last table for a kind of early dinner recently, they started us off with a tiny plate of pickled cucumbers and cabbage, which we sampled and used to whet our appetities and cleanse our cotton mouths after a trip to Homegoods, which always does that to me.   

Tabouli Grill has a liquor license so they offer wine by the glass and bottle, as well as specialty cocktails, but for me beer is the old reliable...if not the then one of the original libations of the world, brewed in the cradle of civilization itself, going with every cuisine I can think of. Plus, they didn't have any traditional malted fruit beverages on the menu, so...

The Tabouli appetizer was dry--in a good way...not swimming in lemon juice nor with too much rough parsley.  Just plenty of plump bulgur with a good but not overpowering mix of breath-assuring greenage and diced tomato. 

Their Hummus was delightfully fresh and smooth...not cold but not room temp either.  It had a distinct bitterness and nuttiness to it, with a well in the middle filled with lemony tahina sauce.  Nicole was on my case for a three day garlic breath bender courtesy of some really good Chicken Tikka Masala, but this hummus didn't send it over the edge.  The garlic was discernible, but in balance with everything else, which is what I look for.  Sorry Sabra. 

The pita served with it was excellent; doughy, floury, fluffy and tasting of honey.  Their pita to hummus ratio was heavily skewed toward the latter, and though I could just eat the puree with a fork, we needed seconds on the bread to properly finish, and they seemed happy to oblige. 

For dinner, the sliced lamb in the Shwarma Platter retained its natural flavor despite an abundant peppering of allspice.  It was also pretty lean but with the occasional bit of fat to keep it honest.  There's no vertical spit with cylinder of dripping meat to be seen at Tabouli, not that I would have minded, but theirs is an approach of freshness and clean flavors.  This lamb was apparently spit roasted, but it was less saturated with herbs, spices and salt than I'm used to in a Shwarma or Doner Kebab.   

Megadarra, or rice with lentils and caramelized onion was very light and well seasoned with cinnamon that played off the sweet onion.  Part of me initially wanted more salt, but then I realized that the use of spice was sufficient to talk me out of it.  I think in general we look for too much salinity, so this was one of those moments to resist the urge and taste it for what it was.   

The falafel, served with more of that zesty tahina, were good...it's hard to make your falafel really stand out from the crowd of other properly made falafel, so I can't say too much about them other than that they were deep golden brown and crunchy without being greasy.  I could easily order like a dozen or two and just snack on them as an appetizer, for what that's worth.  Which is something to me.

The handful of falafel were served with Israeli Salad, which had plenty of crunch courtesy of bits of cucumber and cabbage, tossed with a lemon dressing that worked off the the cukes to give the whole dish a a subtle pickled flavor. 

The small space of Tabouli is well staffed, which made service pretty swift. Probably not somewhere we'll go for an 8pm dinner and close down the place, but not takeout-focused with napkin dispensers either...a happy medium which means it's good for a casual and/or impromptu dinner.  I think we got lucky just strolling in when we did, because shortly thereafter a small line formed, and there's really nowhere to put it.  As we ate, passers-by pulled in to check out the menu and see what else they have to add to their list in the breakneck culinary revolution of the Post Road. 

Our experience was definitely positive, but with one small caveat: no Kibbeh...when I'm going for takeout, I'm wishing to see these fried levantine meatballs on the menu.  Personal preference though and maybe they'll add them at some point.  When it came to every other dish we were pleased by the freshness, balance of flavors and desired textures.  We'll have to look somewhere else for kibbeh, but I would come back here for everything else.

http://www.tabouligrill.com/

Chadrool: Neapolitan dialectical pronunciation of cetriolo, which means cucumber.  Often used as slang to call someone an idiot.  No idiots to be found here, but it rhymes with taboul and cucumbers were enjoyed during our dining experience.