I sure do love risotto.

Last Saturday night, I cooked an amazing three-course date night, pre-concert meal for under $15, and found inspiration in farmer's market showings that have seemed, well, monotonous lately. As much as I love leafy greens, I would also love to see some of those strawberries and asparagus I keep hearing will pop up in the market, any day now. On a beautiful Saturday morning, however, it was leafy greens and roots. Which, don't get me wrong, I do love. I'm just craving variety.

I'd enjoyed some curried kale (and wine, and candied almonds) at an Easter potluck the previous weekend, so I picked up a couple of bunches. Then, I noticed the last lovely bunch of fresh basil at a farmer's stall. Andy and I headed off to a tour of Depression-era architecture (sponsored by my work, btw), and I still had no idea what I was going to do with these ingredients.

And I still didn't at 4 p.m., a mere two hours before I was planning to serve dinner. Then, suddenly, it jelled. I was planning to serve kale as the main dish, with the basil as some type of garnish for a salad. Then I found this recipe for Meyer lemon risotto with fresh basil, and decided to switch things around.
A Meyer lemon is a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange, with a slightly more orange-colored peel than a true lemon. Although I'd seen it quite often on fancy restaurant menus, I'd never cooked with it before. So glad I did! It lent the risotto a tart-sweet quality that complemented the fresh basil so well. Of course, I did make a couple of modificatiosn. I subbed veggie stock for the chicken stock, left out the celery ('cause I don't like it), and subbed crushed red pepper for the Thai chili ('cause I thought I had bought one, but it wasn't in my bag when I got home).As a side dish, I made a dish of my own invention. Kale, along with other leafy greens, is so often served in the Mediterranean with currants/raisins and pine nuts. I did my own variation on this theme with sour cherries and pumpkin seeds.For dessert, I served some whipped mascarpone with honey and strawberries. Then we danced the night away at a free Girl Talk show!