Pan-seared tilefish with cauliflower risotto. 

I saw this photo of scallops with cauliflower risotto posted by rightupmyalley a couple of weeks ago and it immediately put me onto a cauliflower risotto kick. I couldn’t find a recipe that I wanted, so I pieced together this Cauliflower Risotto recipe that, for me, works really well with fish and scallops and also chicken or pork.

The tilefish marks the return of Blue Moon Fish to the NYC Greenmarket scene—one of the most welcome signs of spring. I hadn’t actually tried this particular fish before, but cooked barely through I found it to be sweet, slightly firm, not the least bit oily, and really delicious.

Mangalitsa pork sirloin chop from Mosefund Farm with chanterelle mushroom risotto and bourbon-maple pan sauce. The 18 ounce mangalitsa chop was cooked sous vide with salt, pepper, and BLiS maple syrup, then quickly seared. The pan was deglazed with bourbon, then the liquid from the sous vide bags was added to the pan and reduced.

I tried something new with the risotto—a new minimal stirring recipe from Serious Eats. I’ve always been in the stir-the-risotto-constantly camp because I like the control. This batch didn’t do anything to pull me away from stirring. I don’t doubt that these recipes work well when followed to the letter and have been customized for your home’s range. But, when you want to start playing around with different liquids like mushroom steeping water, etc., there’s no substitute for the control that comes with adding one cup of liquid at a time and stirring constantly. Oh well.

Crispy-skinned lola duck breast and asparagus risotto. Duck is always great, but the asparagus is the more interesting thing here. Maybe everyone else already knows this, but I recently discovered the trick of puréeing the stalks of the asparagus in some stock and using the purée as the final dose of liquid in the risotto cooking process. The only problem with this is that the purée really has to be added at the very end for the best flavor, but the eye of a risotto master is required otherwise the rice can end up gluey and overcooked. In this photo, you might be able to tell mine is overcooked by a couple of minutes; it still tasted great but Gordon Ramsay would’ve been screaming at me. I’ll work on a recipe over the next few weeks and post it.

The wine you can barely make out in the background is the 2009 Antica Terra Pinot Noir Botanica. Antica Terrra is a relatively new discovery for me… Winemaker/ owner Maggie Harrison is a former assistant winemaker at Sine Qua Non, and now she’s making my favorite Oregon Pinots.

Pan-seared duck breast, porcini mushroom risotto, and broccoli rabe. The duck and risotto are the same as I’ve done in the past, but I wanted to comment on the broccoli rabe.

Until last week, I hated broccoli rabe; it’s bitter, either tough or mushy depending on how long it’s cooked, and really not worth eating in any capacity. This has been a small problem for me as it’s somewhat of a ubiquitous side dish at Mediterranean and Italian restaurants in the Northeast. But last week, Eugena from Lani’s Farm (profiled on Serious Eats, one of my favorite Greenmarket sources) insisted that this time of year, her broccoli rabe is “so tender, so sweet.” The sign even said so. She hasn’t steered me wrong before, so I gave in. To my surprise, it was delicious. And actually worth eating—I went back for more this week. I still plan on avoiding it the rest of the year.

To prepare seasonally delicious broccoli rabe, blanch (three minutes in salted boiling water, then 30 seconds in an ice bath) then thoroughly dry. Quickly sauté with slivers of garlic in olive oil, then season to taste.

Lobel’s veal rib chop with veal stock, shallot, brandy, and parmesan risotto and a red wine reduction sauce. Not much to say other than the Lobel’s veal chop was great in this dish. The wine is Kosta Browne 2007 Koplen Vineyard Pinot… a young but excellent pinot noir that pairs really well with this type of meal.

Pan seared magret with porcini mushroom and duck bacon risotto. This is a fantastic duck dish matching the earthiness of porcini mushrooms with rich, gamey, crispy duck. I used Moulard breasts from Hudson Valley Duck Farm, but any will do, and you could probably even do this with legs if you wanted. The duck breasts were pan seared normally. I’m including my recipe for the risotto:

Porcini Mushroom and Duck Bacon Risotto
Serves 2 

Ingredients:
1/2 cup or one handful of dried porcini mushrooms
4 slices duck bacon
4 medium to large shallots finely chopped
3-4 tbsp butter 
1 cup arborio rice
1/4 cup brandy
4 cups chicken stock (or better yet, homemade duck stock), at a simmer
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Combine the dried porcini with a couple of cups of boiling water and let sit for 15 minutes. Fish out the porcini, chop roughly, and reserve both the mushrooms and the liquid.

2. Crisp and render the fat from four strips of duck bacon in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Remove and roughly chop or crumble the bacon.

3. Add the shallots to the pan with the rendered fat, with up to a tablespoon of butter if needed, and cook until tender and lightly browned.

4. Add the rice to the pan and toast for 3-4 minutes. Add the brandy, which should boil off fairly quickly.

5. Add a half cup of the porcini liquid and cook until fully absorbed by the rice. Repeat once more.

6. Add stock, half a cup at a time, allowing the stock to be fully absorbed before adding more. Repeat until the rice is done. Before adding the last bit of stock, add back into the pan the chopped porcini.

7. When the rice is al dente, stir in 3 tbsp of butter, parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste.

If scaling this recipe, increase the amounts of porcini, bacon, shallot, butter and parmesan at the same ratio as the rice. Consider adding a third half cup of porcini liquid at step 5. You won’t need to increase the stock as much.