It is said that the soul of a risotto is its stock. I have to confess, I don’t really heed the advice implied in this little adage, usually opting for bouillon cubes or concentrated dashi rather than homemade stock. I mean, can you blame me? Stock takes time to make from scratch, and besides, rarely do I have the requisite carcasses tucked away in the icebox.

But yesterday I cooked a duck. I smoked it; tea-smoked it, to be precise. It was rather nice, but it wasn’t perfect and the recipe wasn’t an original, so I’m not going to post it. Anyway, at the end of the meal I was left with a duck carcass, still heavy with delicious meat and fat (because I sucked at carving it), so I decided to make a stock. And what better use of stock is there than possessing a risotto? None. There is no better use.

I have to say, the risotto was not noticeably better or more savory than other risottos I’ve made with store-bought stocks, and it wasn’t even particularly ducky. It was very good, though; on a whim, I threw in some pickled ginger that really sung a lovely, sweet-and-sour harmony with the rich tones of duck and Pleasant Ridge Reserve (quite possibly my favorite cheese). The Brazil nuts were a nice touch as well, lending a firm crunch and a mellow coconutty flavor.

Duck and Brazil Nut Risotto

For the stock:

1 duck carcass, roughly chopped
1 onion, halved
1/2 cup red wine
1 inch ginger
2 cloves garlic
about 1 gallon water
salt
pepper

1. Put everything in a large stockpot and boil over medium-high heat for about 3 and a half hours, or until stock is dark brown and flavorful.
2. Strain and refrigerate until ready to use.

1/2 shallot, diced
1/4 red onion, diced
about 2 tablespoons beni shoga (red pickled ginger)
8-10 Brazil nuts, chopped
1 cup Arborio rice
1 cup red wine
about 6 cups duck stock (substitute a mix of beef and chicken stock)
3/4 stalk celery, sliced
about 1 cup duck meat, chopped or pulled (I used the bits stuck to the bones after I pulled them from the stock)
1/2 cup Gruyere or similar cheese
olive oil
salt
pepper

1. Bring stock to a simmer.
2. Heat olive oil in a deep frying pan over medium heat. Sauté onions with salt and pepper until translucent. Add shallots, beni shoga, and Brazils and sauté until shallots are translucent.
3. Add rice and stir well to coat with oil. Increase heat and keep stirring to toast grains.
4. When rice turns opaque, add half the wine, then reduce heat back to medium-high.
5. Add a ladleful of stock and cook, stirring often. When most of the liquid has evaporated or been absorbed, add more stock and continue stirring. Repeat this step several times until rice has nearly finished cooking.
6. After about 10-15 minutes, add celery.
7. Once rice is al dente, add duck meat and a small amount of stock and fold into risotto.
8. Add cheese and remaining wine. Stir to melt cheese evenly and cook away remaining liquid.

After a long hiatus, New Risotto Sunday returns! It has been a while since I have had the free time, not to mention the inclination to make a new risotto, but as I am currently unemployed and residing with my parents, I really have little better to do.

Today’s risotto was based on a package of buckwheat seeds that I bought at an omiyage stand in Oita two months ago. Along with a tin of saffron and a jar of yuzu-kosho, it was one of few foodstuffs I actually salvaged during my massive apartment cleanout in Japan. And I’m glad I did; the buckwheat was very nice in the risotto, lending a springy texture and mild nuttiness. Inspired by some buckwheat blinis with lox and creme fraiche I saw on TV, I rounded out the dish with salty flakes of smoked salmon and a dollop of tangy chevre.

Buckwheat and Smoked Salmon Risotto

1 cup whole buckwheat seeds
1/2 cup Arborio rice
about 6 cups chicken, seafood, or vegetable stock
about 10 cherry tomatoes
1/4 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
juice of 1 lemon
about 1 cup smoked salmon, flaked (don’t use lox, it’s too soft)
1 pinch saffron, crumbled (optional)
about 12 chives, chopped
about 1/4 cup chevre
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
olive oil, for sauteing
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Roast tomatoes, whole, using your preferred method of roasting. Remove and discard skin and reserve juice.
2. Bring stock to a simmer.
3. Heat about two tablespoons olive oil in a deep frying pan over medium heat. Sauté garlic and onions with salt and white pepper until onions are just translucent. Add rice and buckwheat to the pan and stir well to coat with oil. Increase heat and keep stirring to toast grains.
4. When rice turns opaque, add saffron and half the lemon juice, then reduce heat back to medium.
5. Add a ladleful of stock and cook, stirring often. When most of the liquid has evaporated or been absorbed, add more stock and continue stirring. Repeat this step several times until rice has nearly finished cooking.
6. Add roasted tomatoes, chives, and remaining lemon juice, and cook until liquid is mostly gone.
7. Add cheese, salmon, and a small amount of stock. Stir to melt cheese evenly. Garnish with pine nuts and chives and serve immediately.

After just reading part one of The Omnivore’s Dilemma this week, maybe I should feel a little guilty about enjoying this corn-packed risotto as much as I did. But then again, I am in Japan, so I’m probably not supporting the disturbingly powerful American corn complex. (Or maybe I am? Who knows where that corn came from!?) At any rate, this risotto was awesome – awesome to the max!!! Please enjoy.

Corn and Crab Risotto

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 onion, minced
3/4 cup short-grain rice
about 4 cups chicken stock
about 2 tablespoons malt vinegar
about 130 grams corn kernels
about 1/2 cup creamed corn
about 1 tablespoon soy sauce
meat of about 3 king crab legs, roughly torn (approximately 1 cup)
3 scallions, finely chopped
about 1/2 cup light lager
juice of 1/2 lime
2 tablespoons cream cheese
about 1 1/2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
Tabasco sauce, to taste
ground bay leaves, to taste
ground cumin, to taste
salt
pepper

1. Drain corn and mix with soy sauce in a shallow baking pan and bake at 400ºF for about 20 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated and corn has browned.
2. Heat butter over medium heat in a deep frying pan. Add onions with salt and pepper and sauté until soft.
3. Add rice to the pan and stir well to coat with butter. Increase heat and keep stirring to toast rice.
4. When rice starts to turn opaque, add malt vinegar, then reduce heat back to medium.
5. Add creamed corn and a ladleful of stock, and cook, stirring often. When most of the liquid has evaporated or been, add more stock and continue stirring. Repeat this step several times until rice has nearly finished cooking.
6. When rice is almost al dente, add cumin, bay leaves, Tabasco sauce, crab meat, baked corn, scallions, and a final ladleful of stock. Stir well and allow the stock to cook off.
7. Finally, add cheese, lime juice, and beer and stir until smooth and creamy. Salt to taste and serve immediately.

The first pays tribute to various meibutsu (local specialties) from my home state of Wisconsin; namely, wild rice, cranberries, beer, butter, and cheese. Please enjoy the creamy tang of real Wisconsin-made aged Cheddar and young Colby bound together with rustic wild rice and a light burst of cranberry sweetness. I made this for my extended family, so the recipe here is good for about nine people as opposed to the usual two.

Risotto of Wisconsin Meibutsu

2 cups Arborio rice (uncooked)
about 1 1/2 cups wild rice (cooked)
about 3/4 cup dried unflavored cranberries, chopped
about 1/2 onion, finely chopped
about 1 cup Hefeweizen (substitute dry white wine)
about 6 cups chicken stock
about 1 cup shredded Colby and aged Cheddar cheeses
about 2 tablespoons butter
salt
pepper

1. Heat about 1 1/2 tablespoons butter over medium heat in a deep frying pan. Add onions with pepper and sauté until soft and lightly browned.
2. Add Arborio rice to the pan and stir well to coat with butter. Increase heat and keep stirring to toast rice.
3. When rice starts to turn opaque, add about 1/4 cup beer to deglaze. Cook off liquid, then reduce heat back to medium.
4. Add a ladleful of stock, and cook, stirring often. When the rice has absorbed most of the liquid, add more stock and continue stirring. Repeat this step several times until rice has finished cooking.
5. After about 20 minutes, add the chopped cranberries and stir.
6. When rice is almost al dente, add cooked wild rice and a ladleful of stock, stir, and cook off liquid.
7. Finally, add cheese, remaining beer and butter, and cook until smooth and creamy. Salt to taste and serve immediately.

The second risotto was conceived as a somewhat non-traditional entry to the traditional Thanksgiving dinner. It is meant to blend well with the rest of the many, many other dishes served, in keeping with the “pile it on” Turkey Day mentality (i.e., you can put gravy and/or cranberry sauce on it and it won’t taste nasty), but it should also do well as a robust standalone dish with a pleasant autumnal flavor and the creamy tang of Gorgonzola.

Sage-Acorn Squash Risotto with Pancetta

2 cups Arborio rice
about 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
about 6 cups chicken stock
about 1/2 cup dry white wine
2 ounces pancetta
1 acorn squash or small pumpkin, seeded, peeled, and cubed
about 1 ounce fresh sage, chopped or torn
1/4 cup Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup Marscapone cheese
ground cinnamon
salt
pepper

1. Heat butter over medium heat in a deep frying pan. Add Arborio rice to the pan and stir well to coat with butter. Increase heat and keep stirring to toast rice.
2. When rice starts to turn opaque, add about 1/4 cup wine to deglaze. Cook off liquid, then reduce heat back to medium.
3. Add cubed squash, pepper and ladleful of stock, and cook, stirring often. When the rice has absorbed most of the liquid, add more stock and continue stirring. Repeat this step several times until rice has finished cooking.
4. When rice is nearly al dente, add sage and cinnamon and a ladleful of stock, stir, and cook off liquid.
5. Add cheese, remaining wine, and cook until smooth and creamy. Salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

The third and final risotto was an experiment based on a classic beer and cheese pairing: saison, the classic farmer’s ale from Wallonia, and Camembert, from the nearby Normandy region of France. Actually, in this case, both beer and cheese are from California – Le Merle from Fort Bragg, and Rouge et Noir from Petaluma. At any rate, you’re going to want to use a fairly robust Camembert (i.e., nothing Japanese), but nothing too expensive because many of the funkier subtleties of the cheese won’t survive melting. This risotto is a white wedding of fruity and buttery, spicy and earthy, tangy and fungal, offset by a tasteful green bouquet of basil and mint.

For a more Normandy-centric version, add some seafood and use cider and/or Calvados in place of the saison.

Saison and Camembert Risotto

3/4 cup short-grain rice
about 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup apple vinegar
about 6 cups vegetable stock
1/4 onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
about 100 grams Camembert cheese
about 3/4 cup saison
about 1/8 cup pine nuts, toasted
fresh flat-leaf parsely
fresh basil
scallions, chopped
salt
pepper

1. Heat butter over medium heat in a deep frying pan. Add garlic and onions and pepper and cook until brown.
2. Add Arborio rice to the pan and stir well to coat with butter. Increase heat and keep stirring to toast rice.
3. When rice starts to turn opaque, add vinegar to deglaze. Cook off liquid, then reduce heat back to medium.
4. Add a ladleful of stock and cook, stirring often. When the rice has absorbed most of the liquid, add more stock and continue stirring. Repeat this step several times until rice has finished cooking.
5. When rice is nearly al dente, scallions, and pine nuts, and a ladleful of stock, stir, and cook off liquid.
6. Add cheese, herbs, and saison, and cook until smooth and creamy. Salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

You didn’t think I was serious, did you?

Ah, but I am. If there’s one thing I can commit myself to, it’s making risotto every Sunday. In fact, I am so dedicated to this new feature that I actually made this risotto last Tuesday because I had originally planned to go out for Mexican food tonight. As it happened, I didn’t go out for Mexican. I got sick, stayed home, and made baked potatoes.

Hmm, that story didn’t really go anywhere, did it? Well then, here’s something that will go somewhere: into your stomach via your smiling mouth! Please enjoy this consummation of mild citric sweetness and buttery chunks of pecans, chickeny goodness and a light, nutty crunch.

Orange-Pecan Chicken Risotto

3/4 cup short-grain rice
3/4 cup dry vermouth
2 shallots or 1/2 onion, chopped
juice of 1 orange
zest of 1/2 orange
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon hot mustard
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
about 6 ounces chicken meat, chopped or torn into small pieces
about 4 cups hot chicken stock
parsley, chopped
1/4 cup pecans, chopped and toasted
1/4 cup aged Gouda, shredded
butter
salt
pepper

1. Mix orange juice, orange zest, lemon juice, soy sauce, honey, pepper, clove, and garlic together in a resealable container. Add chicken, stir to coat, and marinate, refrigerated, for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours. (Remove garlic cloves and allow this mixture to come to room temperature before cooking.)
2. Heat butter over medium heat in a deep frying pan. Add shallots or onions with some salt and pepper and sauté until soft and lightly browned.
3. Add rice to the pan and stir well to coat with butter. Increase heat and keep stirring to toast rice.
4. When starts to turn opaque, add vermouth to deglaze. Cook off liquid, then add pecans and reduce heat back to medium.
5. Add stock, ladleful by ladleful, and cook, stirring often, until rice is almost al dente.
6. Add chicken and marinade, stir well, and cook until liquid is almost gone and chicken is cooked through.
7. If needed, add more stock to finish cooking rice.
8. Stir in cheese, parsley, and a bit more butter. Serve hot in shallow bowls and garnish with fresh parsley.