Friday, January 23, 2009

Same Shit, Different Day

As inevitable as dawn, pursuant to a now-in-regular-rotation roast chicken (because we all love it so) came chicken broth. And lacking anything that screamed inspiration from within fridge, freezer, or cupboard, risotto thus seemed like a pretty good idea. I mustered spinach, leeks, and a surprise bag of frozen corn that Milo insisted upon to make what looked to be a decent complement of flavors and got to work. Working at home does allow for this sort of thing to happen on the same day, rather than needing to make the broth ahead of time; I just come in around lunch time and get the broth going, and let it simmer until I come in to make dinner. Another side benefit of this is that the house smells like my Grandmother is still alive all afternoon, as the chickeny goodness permeates the whole space.

Really the only thing that made this even a little bit special was the fact that I took one chopped leek and crisped it up in a separate pan while its sibling got all silky and melty with the broth and rice. I added the corn with about 3 minutes left, and the spinach just before serving, along with some grated parmigiano and a spoon of yogurt. Christine likes her risotto on the brothy side, unlike me, but I indulged her because there was a little broth left over and I wasn't about to put it in a tiny container and then forget about it until it became a biological weapon in the back of the fridge. I'm altruistic like that. So it ended up nice and soupy, with extra crispy leeks on top for a crunchy garnish.

In a perfect world, I would have crisped the leeks in duck fat, but I forgot. It's bad enough that I'm posting risotto again, but to have left out the duck fat- well, what can I say? Coming in to make the broth at lunchtime was my big culinary exertion for the day. I will say that another Ada Nada Barbaresco played a pretty ornate counterpoint to these humble embellishments on chicken soup with rice, and then even went so far as to provide a startling and awful dessert in the form of big crunchy shards of sediment at the bottom of the last glass.


8 comments:

Heather said...

Sediments have ruined many a glass of wine for me. That's a sad-making dessert.

Risotto is good comfy, but I'm with you on liking it a little more upright than soupy. I prefer my "sauce" in the form of a dollop of cultured butter, but I guess I ain't be mad at a little broth ladled over the top. But only if it's evocative of Grandma.

cookiecrumb said...

Yeah, that is brothy. Looks good that way. Sort of an Italian jook.

The Spiteful Chef said...

I would totally eat it. Risotto is good all the time. Sadly, though, with all that broth you won't be able to make arancini with any potential leftovers.

Zoomie said...

Crispy leek, best idea!

peter said...

Blanche: Those are my sediments exactly.

CC: More so than I like, normally, but marriage is all about compromise. Or some shit.

Kristie: There were some leftovers, but I wisely left them on low heat to absorb the extra liquid. Didn't matter, though; we ate the leftovers for lunch with kimchi. Next time I have to make more.

peter said...

Zoomie: Woah, you wrote that while I was responding. Woah. And yes. Not mine, tough.

Jen said...

We seem to be doing the roast chicken thing once per week, followed by something with the broth once per week. It's good winter stuff.

We joined a "poultry CSA" this winter, where the chickens are kept warm and toasty in hoop houses (they can also run around outside when it gets too warm) and so we've been getting eggs and chickens to use all winter. It's been nice.

peter said...

Jen: I wish we had something like that around here. Our friend with a small farm keeps threatening to do it, but hasn't yet.