I’m not sure what it is, maybe it is part that it is a form of comfort food, maybe it’s the care and slowness that needed to make it or may be that it starts off very basic and yet can become the basis for any combination of food, from seafood, to vegetables, to meats or whatever. It’s a great combination of satisfying comfort and creativity that is similar to our San Francisco Food Tour of North Beach\Little and Chinatown. From its modest beginning of sautéed onions and garlic, with addition of rice, wine and then broth, it starts with modest beginnings and with the right care can become a great dinner. If you add the broth too quickly, the rice does not really get that great the creamy al dente taste, so the only way to really make it is to add the broth a little bit at a time, let it get absorbed and add some more until it’s completely absorbed.
On our San Francisco Food Tours, we find a lot of dishes that are that way, they start with modest beginnings and with the right care, they become something wonderful , such as bread. It can be a very modest food and yet at the same time, it be incredibility comforting. The addition of someone’s creativity can end with some truly special. All it takes is the care and time to let it develop. Sort of the same way that I like making risotto.
