Product of the Week: Osem Chicken Style Consomme

For my first product review, I wanted to pick one of my favorite kosher items to cook with. I find it to be a fabulous pantry staple full of flavor that you can use with anything, as it is pareve.

Osem's Chicken-Style Consomme Instant Soup and Seasoning Mix is special for me, because it allows me to adapt recipes that may not traditionally be kosher into something that tastes like the real thing. When other recipes call for chicken stock, I just pull out my container and measure out a teaspoon for every cup of hot water.

When I first moved in to our apartment with Ari, I got the vegetable, onion, beef and chicken mixes from Osem. Although I like some of the other kinds, the chicken is my go-to mix. Even though it's pareve, it has that distinct chicken flavor that can't be mistaken. I use it along with all my favorite spices.

One of the best parts about this is that it's not like a soup cube. I find that with soup cubes, they have only one purpose -- to be dissolved. It makes it such a hassle, because it's an assigned amount and sometimes you waste a whole cube on a recipe where you only need a little bit. But the loose powder of the Consomme allows me to put it on whatever I want, and I never waste it. One of the uses I love for it is to put it on top of frozen vegetables with a little bit of butter or margarine, depending on whether it's a meat or dairy meal. But don't put too much on -- otherwise, it might end up tasting like a salt lick.

Part of the reason why this is the Product of the Week is that I used it last week to create a delicious saffron and mushroom risotto. Risotto may take time and patience, but it is worth it because it's so creamy and mouth-watering. Think of it as our grown-up version of mac and cheese. The recipe is below

Luckily, you don't have to be close to a kosher market in order to pick this up. Most mainstream grocery stores have it in their kosher sections. Or you can purchase it at kosher.com by simply clicking here.

SAFFRON AND MUSHROOM RISOTTO (DAIRY)

1 cup dried mushroom medley

3 pinches saffron

8 cups water with Osem Chicken Consomme, divided use

3 tablespoons butter

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

1/2 cup dry wine, such as a savigno

1 pound Aborrio or long-grain rice

1 cup parmesan cheese, grated or shredded

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

Reconstitute the mushrooms with 1 cup hot water. Allow to sit for half hour. Once reconstituted, chop coarsely and place back in the steeping water.

Heat the water and consomme, allowing the powder to dissolve. Remove one cup and add the saffron, letting it sit for at least ten minutes.

Dice the onion and mince the garlic finely. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the onion and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Allow onions to become translucent and add the rice. Mix continuously for five minutes and add the wine.

Once the wine is absorbed, add the cup of consomme infused with saffron. Stir and allow to absorb. Add three cups of the consomme, one cup at a time, continuously stirring to make sure that it evenly cooks. The mixture should start to get creamy from the starch from the rice.

Add the reconstituted mushrooms and liquid and stir. Continue adding consomme one cup at a time and stirring until the risotto is al dente and creamy. You may not necessarily need all of the consomme.

While hot, add the parmesan and parsley, allowing the parmesan to melt. Serve immediately.

QUICK TIP: When it comes to selecting a wine for this, pick one that you would actually like to drink. My favorites for this recipe are a Sauvignon Blanc or a Pinot Grigio.