Honoring Marcella Hazan with Her Parmesan Risotto

We note the passing of Marcella Hazan, an Italian cookbook legend, who the food community lost on September 30th, 2013. She was 89 years old. PBS was honored to have her make a rare television appearance on an episode of The Mind Of A Chef, which aired in late Fall 2013.

Fresh Tastes blogger Adrianna Adarme shares a personal tribute to Marcella Hazan's legacy.

When I was sixteen, I was an ambitious hostess. I liked to throw parties. I liked to cook dishes I had no idea how to cook. And I usually liked to try and do a lot of them all at the same time, which wasn't always the best move. One Christmas I decided to make a Feast of Seven Fishes. I grabbed my first Marcella Hazan book, The Essentials of Italian Cooking, that was gifted to me from my in-the-know and avid book-collector of an uncle.

It was an old copy. Probably one he picked up at a yard sale; the pages were stained showing signs of lots of use. As I perused the recipes, I found out the reason why: each and every recipe seemed doable, delicious and simplistic in the best way possible.

I made five dishes (of our seven) from her book. And surprisingly, only one was a failure: this Parmesan risotto. It wasn't due to any faulty directions or ratios. No way. It was all user error. What I learned on that day is that risotto requires patience and a large amount of attention -- no multi-tasking allowed!

This is my first time attempting this dish since that day when I cried in my gummy, messy risotto. I wasn't surprised to find that it turned out perfectly. I followed Marcella's words and was met with the perfect amount of creaminess. This dish is so simple, so perfect and so delicious.