John Besh

The basic method of making risotto will never change: you cook the rice slowly and add broth gradually, so the starchy inside of the rice kernel expands as the outside layer dissolves into creaminess. Risotto feeds the soul and can take a whole range of flavors. I like the pumpkin risotto here, but try a shrimp risotto using shellfish broth, adding a pound of peeled shrimp at the last minute and letting them cook no more than 5 minutes. Or how about a green risotto, with a bunch of watercress or a few handfuls of spinach, chopped fine? Or a mushroom risotto with a pound of sliced fresh mushrooms added to the dried porcini mushrooms.

The tomato/meat base of this ragout will work with any shape of pasta. Just use this recipe as a trusty guide. The point is to use whatever meat you have, such as roast pork (or beef or lamb or poultry), and heat it quickly with canned tomatoes to make a succulent sauce. Keep in mind that the meat is already cooked to perfection, so it takes very little time to come together.

This potato, leek, and broth base is a wonderful building block for an astounding number of flavorful, velvety soups. The recipe for fennel soup follows, but in place of the fennel, try adding a cup of chopped carrots, or corn off the cob, or chopped broccoli, or diced turnips. I could go on! The method is the same: First, you soften the vegetables, then add the broth and just a bit of cream, simmer, and purée. If you omit all the other vegetables, this becomes the perfect potato and leek soup; serve it chilled and you have a great vichyssoise.

You'll notice I use a little bit of water in the bottom of my roasting pans so that we're able to catch the drippings before they burn. When we're able to collect these tasty drippings along with the aromatic vegetables that have softened in the fat and drippings from the roast, you've got yourself the makings for an incredible tasting pan sauce.