Hi friends,
Winter is the season, more than any other, when people come together to celebrate. It can be a joy to gather, and it can also be, well, exhausting. Before we had kids, we cooked for others constantly—for years, Greta made a Sunday dinner for friends every week; Fanny, too, was possessed by a compulsive need to cram as many people around her table as often as possible. Bringing people together for a delicious meal has been a core part of our identities, and something that, as friends, we’ve nurtured in one another.
Where hosting used to mean shopping deliberately, going to farmers markets, maybe even stopping in at multiple stores (so old-y world-y!) and arranging flowers, it now means something else altogether. If we’ve been able to do it at all, food prep needs to happen as quickly and efficiently as possible (hello, grocery delivery services!), the burden of the cooking distributed, and the gathering, well, not too drawn-out. (The only thing more sacrosanct than a shared meal is bedtime.)
We’ve both had to let go of our old notions of how to bring people together and accept a radically different approach. The house will not be clean. The kitchen: chaotic. The food, which was once the raison-d’être, is now the mechanism, the means to an end. It does not need to be perfect, or complicated, or original, it just needs to be cozy, and tasty (see below for an assist), with plenty to go around. The power of gathering, then, lies not in what’s for dinner, but in the fact of togetherness.
Greta now does Sunday dinner once a month (or tries to, at least). Fanny has loosened control and settles on making a big salad, but invites others to come with a dish. Though we love to cook a feast, potlucks can be great, too. What both of us have learned, in pushing through some of the knee-jerk resistance to conviviality that parenthood presents, is that the time we spend with friends and family around food remains absolutely precious. Not only is it energizing for us, but it feeds our kids, too—literally, of course, but also their budding selves. To be surrounded by adults and other children, a merry wilderness of bodies and voices, but also extra hands to hold and new pirate figurines to gnaw on, is to restore something of the village to our modern, more isolated lives.
So, without further ado, here is our offering for a perfect meal for said village, a wholesome, crowd-pleasing (but nonetheless green-packed) easy peasy baked risotto version of ‘Risi e Bisi’, a beloved, cozy dish that hails from Venice. It has all of the creamy deliciousness of a classic risotto with none of the neurotic stirring. (And a million thanks to the great multi-hyphenate Mamie Rheingold for testing this recipe!)
Also below, our inaugural Holiday Gift Guides! One for the hosts, one for the kids, both of them centered around preparing and eating food together.
And lastly, some housekeeping: starting next week, we’ll be introducing a paywall which means that, going forward, free subscribers will get 1-2 emails a month, while paid subscribers will get the whole kit and caboodle. Shoot us an email if you have any questions and thank you all so much for your support!
Fanny + Greta
Risi e Bisi is a risotto-adjacent traditional Venetian rice dish that was created to honor the Doge of Venice on the occasion of the feast of San Marco. This recipe is basically none of those things: not at all traditional (forgive us, Venetians), nor Doge-related, but it is delicious, easy to make and just festive enough to serve at casual (holiday?) gatherings with friends. Also, because it features both chard and peas, you can feel good about skipping salad-making entirely and just serve this if you’d like.
The Stats
Active time: ~30 minutes
Passive time: 20 minutes
Note: Give yourself an hour but don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of downtime!
Yields 6-8 adult servings and twice as many for smaller stomachs. You can double or triple this recipe easily to feed a crowd! Just use an extra big dutch oven or oven safe pot.
If using butter and Parmesan, this dish will contain dairy, a common allergen. Butter is considered safe to introduce to babies 6+ months old, while Parmesan is recommended from 12+ months (due to salt content) though a sprinkle here and there is considered safe.
Ingredients
3 leeks (you want about 2 cups chopped)
1 large bunch of Swiss or rainbow chard (about 3 cups of chopped leaves, ¾ cup chopped stems)
2 cups arborio rice
6 cups of chicken or vegetable broth or stock
The zest of one lemon
4 tablespoons butter (replace with vegan butter or olive oil if making vegan)
¼ cup medium bodied olive oil
1 cup frozen peas (fresh are fine too but not currently in season… unless you live in New Zealand!)
1 cup of grated Parmesan plus more to taste
Salt + black pepper
The Method
Preheat oven to 350 F. Put your stock or broth in a pot and turn it to low to warm through (especially important if you’re defrosting from frozen).
Cut the leeks in half lengthwise and thinly slice until you hit the woodier darker green tops (which you’ll discard). Put the chopped leeks in a colander and place it in a large bowl or pot and fill with cold water until the leeks are floating. Swirl them vigorously with your hand. Leeks are notoriously hard to clean, but this method is super effective at dislodging any dirt that might be stuck between the leaves. After a minute or two (to let the dirt settle) lift the colander out and allow leeks to drain in the sink.
While the leeks are draining, strip the chard leaves from the stems and chop into 1-inch ribbons then roughly chop (if you’re feeding babies, consider chopping the leaves a bit more finely to make it easier for them to navigate). Line up the chard stems and chop them thinly.
Add the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter to a Dutch Oven or a deep-ish, heavy-bottomed wide pot, and turn the heat to low. Add the leeks and chopped chard stems and cook—stirring often—until they’re soft but not browning at all, about 10 minutes.
Add the rice to the leeks and chard stems and stir constantly for two minutes, making sure all of the rice is coated. Add 4 cups of broth or stock and the chard leaves and stir to incorporate.
Turn the heat up to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover tightly with a lid (or foil) and place in the oven.
While the risotto is in the oven, take a couple minutes to prep the other ingredients: grate the Parm, zest the lemon, measure the peas and set aside.
Remove the pot from the oven after 20-25 minutes, when the rice is just cooked through (this could also take as few as 15 minutes—no harm in checking it a bit earlier if you prefer a more al dente texture).
After you remove the pot from the oven, place it on a burner over very low heat and stir the mixture well while adding the peas, parmesan, lemon zest, remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and between 1 and 2 cups of the remaining broth, depending on desired consistency.
Once the peas are warmed through, season with salt and pepper and serve with a little more parmesan.
Serve!
Variations
Use chopped or baby spinach in place of chard, but instead of adding it when you would the chard, add along with the peas and stir to thoroughly wilt.
If your family is into herbs, add chopped basil and/or parsley along with the Parmesan at the very end.
This cheese shaped wooden lacing toy comes in lots of other fruity shapes and colors and is great for infinitely curious toddlers, even if they’re lactose intolerant.
A darling fruit-shaped mobile made of felt to start brainwashing babies early about the joys of eating fruits and vegetables.
Vegetable-based finger paints for babies to destroy your home in a non-permanent, utterly non-toxic way. Heck, they could probably even safely eat them without you having to rush to the ER.
The classic cutting fruit set from Melissa + Doug is a classic for a reason. (It’s great. That’s the reason.)
A very sweet patterned apron to get your kid in the kitchen.
Or if they need a little more pomp and circumstance, this ridiculously adorable chef’s jacket and toque will do the trick.
But either way, your tiny cook needs their first knife, no?
If you want your kid to develop a green thumb, try this Grow and See Vegetable Garden—especially great for city kids and apartment dwellers.
Does your kid loathe even the sight of vegetables? They could try to grow some mushrooms instead.
If you’re tired of spending $100,000 every time your beloved child wants some dried mango, nurture their DIY spirit and save some cash with this affordable food dehydrator.
Though this is not the beloved Snoopy-themed model of yore, this shaved ice maker is sure to generate endless delight and kitchen projects year round and can be used to make “healthy” frozen treats.
If you’re jonesing to splurge on some functional high design, this Children’s Salad Set from Fanny’s company Permanent Collection is made for meal time and play and will prove useful in your kitchen long after your kids have outgrown it.
Get a kiddo’s creative cooking juices flowing with this adorable and surprisingly affordable ($22!) mini toaster oven, perfect for baking what will surely be mostly inedible, rubbery cakes.
If you really love someone—and they don’t live in a passion fruit-friendly climate—order them a box of fresh passion fruit from Rincon Tropics farm in Carpinteria, CA. The flavor is outrageous and really takes the edge off winter.
These smoked chili flakes from the wonderful Greek company Daphnis and Chloe make everything taste deeper and richer. Great for sauces, vegetables and sprinkled on top of pizza for a little something extra.
Most hosts could use a set of deadstock linen napkins from LA’s ultra-ethical Suay Sew Shop. They last forever and come in a variety of great colors using environmentally-friendly dyes.
They could also probably use this ingenious (and beautiful) black walnut Two-In-One Cooking Spoon.
If you were under the impression that a bucket of sublime Maldon sea salt flakes would set you back $1,000,000 USD, we get it, but we’re delighted to inform you that the actual price is a mere a $25.
Get someone who loves to cook a bottle of this year’s Olio Nuovo olive oil from California-based Like Family. For the uninitiated, ‘olio nuovo’ (Italian for ‘new oil’) is the first press of the year’s olive harvest when it’s super fresh—it’s bright, and green, and fruity, and utterly delicious. A special seasonal gift!
And, if you’re looking for a stocking stuffer or an understated but meaningful gift for a host, this braided sweetgrass incense will fill their home with the lovely, not-too-sweet scent of vanilla and warm hay.
Bring a friend into the cult of having a “FRUIT ONLY” cutting board (farewell garlicky apple slices!) by gifting them a cute, unusually-shaped board whose role in the kitchen will be easy to remember.
Candles are arguably the best host gift out there. Don’t let the outrageously dated 90s-era website fool you—these hand dipped taper candles from Danica Design in Maine are beautifully made and come in a spectrum of dazzling colors.
This Japanese Spice mix improves whatever it touches (eggs, steak, fish, rice, you name it). Made with yuzu peel and sansho pepper to add citrusy brightness and a touch of zing to any dish, this shichimi togarashi comes in a festively-decorated, bright yellow little package.
See you next week!
Love your newsletter so far! Would love to hear a bit more specifics on how to adapt this recipe for an under 1 year old. Would you just make the peas as a side? Or make the risotto with low sodium broth and set aside a portion pre cheese? Thanks!
The gift guide for hosts is fantastic!!!! Inspiring and useful and great price points. !