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!

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Roasted Garlic Risotto

While at the grocery store, I came across a decent sale on some garlic heads and picked up several of them. One of my favorite things to do when I find garlic on sale is to roast several heads to make a good amount of roasted garlic to use in dishes.

To make roasted garlic is pretty easy and is nothing more than slicing the whole garlic head in half crosswise, drizzling some olive oil over them and seasoning with salt and pepper before baking them in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour.

Once done, you can remove the sweet, caramelized garlic from the papery skins and store in a seal tight container... or you can take some of them and make a delicious roasted garlic risotto like I did!


I enjoy cooking risotto because it's one dish that can be made with so many flavors and variations. For my dinner party tonight, I served this roasted garlic risotto to pair with a roasted pork dish. It was not only delicious but the flavor of the roasted garlic really complimented the meal nicely.

Roasted Garlic Risotto
recipe adapted from MyRecipes.com

4 whole garlic heads
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans vegetable or chicken broth
1 cup water
2 teaspoons butter
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup uncooked Arborio rice or other short-grain rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, more to taste
1/4 teaspoon salt, more to taste
1/4 cup finely minced fresh Italian parsley

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Cut whole garlic heads in half crosswise. Place halves, cut sides up, on a pie pan lined with foil. Drizzle with oil and season with salt & pepper to taste. Place a second sheet of foil over the pan and secure foil edges. Bake at 375° for 50 minutes or until garlic is tender and carmelized. Cool. Squeeze out the roasted garlic from the papery skins, mash with a fork and set aside.

3. Bring broth and water to a simmer in a large saucepan. Keep warm over low heat.

4. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, until hot. Melt butter in pan. Add onion; sauté 4 minutes or until lightly browned.

5. Reduce heat to medium. Add rice and mashed roasted garlic; sauté 1 minute. Stir in wine and 1/2 cup broth mixture; cook until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Add remaining broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion is absorbed before adding the next (about 30 minutes or until all broth has been absorbed and rice is tender). Stir in cheese, pepper, salt, and parsley. Serve immediately.

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Mushroom risotto

This recipe was made for my 2007 Holiday Party featuring an Italian inspired menu. You can read about it and view the additional recipes I made for this event HERE.

Mushroom risotto

4 cups of chicken broth

3 large cloves of garlic, minced

2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms

1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cups arborio rice
fresh ground black pepper
1 cup freshly grated asiago cheese.

In a saute pan, coat the bottom with olive oil.

Add sliced mushrooms and minced garlic; saute.

When the mushrooms have caramelized, add the rice.

Stir rice to coat and slightly toast up.

Add 1 cup of beef broth to the rice and stir.

Allow liquid to reduce before adding 1 cup at a time; stirring continuously.

Continue to add broth until all is used or until rice reaches a creamy consistency.

When rice is just about done, fold in the cheese.

Season with salt & pepper to taste.

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