Roasted Duck Risotto

It's my day off and tonight I wanted to make something special for dinner. My husband has been working every day for the last couple of weeks as a result of a new job. He's been doing great as a newly licensed leasing agent and I'm so proud of what he's done in such little time. To celebrate a few recent successes, I made the following for dinner...

Roasted Duck Risotto
original Joelen recipe

1 tablespoon cooking oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon italian seasoning
1/2 cup dry white wine
5 1/2 cups homemade duck stock, warmed
1/2 cup frozen spring peas
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over moderate heat. Add the onions and garlic. Cook until softened. Add the arborio rice and stir until it begins to toast slightly.

Add the wine and the 1/2 teaspoon salt to the rice. Cook, stirring frequently, until all of the wine has been absorbed.

Add about 1/2 cup of the warm stock and italian seasoning and cook, stirring frequently, until it has been absorbed. The rice and broth should bubble gently; adjust the heat as needed. Continue cooking the rice, adding broth 1/2 cup at a time and allowing the rice to absorb it before adding the next 1/2 cup. Cook the rice in this way until tender, 25 to 30 minutes in all. The broth that hasn't been absorbed should be thickened by the starch from the rice. You may not need to use all the liquid, or you may need more broth or some water.

Stir in the frozen peas and the Parmesan and heat through. Serve the risotto with additional Parmesan.

To make my duck stock, I took all the bones and carcass of a roasted duck...
... and boiled it with whole garlic cloves, chopped onion, poultry seasoning and water for a few hours until a rich, deep stock has come together. I then strained the pot from all the big pieces and remove any remaining meat from the bones which I added into the strained stock. What you have after it's all said in done is a flavorful duck stock with delicious bits of duck, perfect for risotto!