Cooking With Chef Chris Crary

Did you know that livestock responsible for red meat and dairy account for roughly 14.5% of the world’s greenhouse gases each year? That means that worldwide livestock farming contributes roughly the same amount of greenhouse gases per year as the emissions from all the vehicles on the road, ships in the sea, and planes in the air. 

The statistic above isn't meant to scare you into completely changing your diet, we just think it's important to shed light on the realities of the world's food system. If we all do our part in even small ways such as having one meatless meal per week, we can make a difference. Please enjoy this this alternative dinner recipe from one of our very own.

A natural choice to produce this recipe is Chef Chris Crary, Executive Chef at 1 Kitchen in 1 Hotel West Hollywood. At 1 Kitchen, Executive Chef Chris Crary serves up fresh, local, and sustainably sourced farm-to-table Southern California cuisine. An on-site, 100% organic garden and beehive provide fresh, robust ingredients that Crary blends into sublime meals. A number of zero-waste dishes spotlight the restaurant’s commitment to preserving the beauty and bounty of nature.  

Chris Crary's Summer Black Truffle Risotto

2 tablespoons of grape seed oil or olive oil 1 cup of yellow onion, diced 1 cup of fennel, diced 1/2 cup of shallot, diced 8 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced 1 kilogram of arborio rice 3 cups of white wine 1 gallon of vegetable stock, heated 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter 2 cups of parmesan, grated 1/4 ounce of truffle oil 4 baby squash, thinly sliced 4 baby zucchini, thinly sliced 4 leaves of sage 3 tablespoons of butter Instructions for the risotto:

1. Preheat a large shallow sided pot with the oil on low/medium.

2. In a heated sauté pan, add the butter, cook until it begins to brown. Once it starts to brown add the sage and then quickly sauté the vegetables, leaving them mostly raw. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Add the onion, fennel, shallot and garlic slowly sauté until the vegetables are translucent.

4. Once the vegetables are cooked turn the heat up and immediately add the rice. Toast the rice for 30 seconds stirring constantly.

5. Deglaze with the wine and cook it until almost all the liquid is gone.

6. Add in 8 ounces of hot vegetable stock at a time stirring constantly. Once the liquid is almost gone then you can add another 8 ounces continue until rice is cooked al dente. (it may require less or more vegetable stock).

7. Remove from heat and stir in the butter, parmesan, and truffle oil.

8. To serve, place the risotto into a bowl then top one side with the shaved vegetables and brown butter. To finish grate parmesan cheese on the other half of the risotto and shave truffles on top.

Need a little guidance? Chef Chris Crary crafts this meal for KTLA's California Cooking with Jessica Holmes.