The Chopping Blog

Now that we know how to make our own homemade stock from scratch, we need something to make with it.  A good stock can be used to increase the depth of sauces, add flavor to soups or my wife’s favorite: create an amazing risotto.

After a catering a friend’s event a few weeks ago, I had a bunch of leftover ingredients: butternut squash, miscellaneous veggies, French bread, a pound or so of duck and fresh herbs.  The first thing I made was vegetable stock with the carrots, onions, celery, etc.  Some of the stock ended up in a curried butternut squash soup.  The rest ended up in a butternut squash, mushroom and duck risotto.

For the soup, start by sauteéing two onions, two carrots and one stalk of celery in a heavy bottom soup pot with just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan.  While those are sweating in the pot, cut three squashes in half lengthwise, remove seeds, season with salt, peper and olive oil.  Roast them in a 400 degree oven until fork tender. Once cool, peel off the thick skin.  After the veggies have sweated for 10-15 min, add in two cloves minced garlic, two tablespoons medium sweet curry powder and cook until aromatic.  Add in two cups of your homemade veggie stock.  Bring to a boil and add in your cooked butternut squash.  At this point, I like to float a cinnamon stick and a couple of bay leaves in the soup and allow to simmer for at least an hour or two.  Remove cinnamon stick and bay leaves; adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, honey and lemon juice.  This soup, along with pretty much every other one, is much better the next day, so I like to puree the soup with an immersion blender until smooth, and refrigerate overnight.  The next day, reheat on the stove and finish with a little heavy cream or yogurt.  Garnish with a little more yogurt and a cilantro sprig. Enjoy.

For the risotto, take the squash and peel the thick skin with a chef’s knife instead of a peeler.  Next, cut the squash in half, remove seeds and cut into a medium dice.  Season with salt, pepper and olive oil, then sauté in a hot pan until caramelized. In a separate pan (I like the Le Creuset Buffet Casserole), sauté a diced onion in olive oil for 10 minutes until lightly caramelized and then add two cloves minced garlic. As soon as the garlic becomes aromatic, add one cup of Arborio rice and toast for a couple of minutes. Deglaze with a half a cup of dry white wine.  At this point, start adding your vegetable stock one cup at a time and simmer until almost cooked off.  If you have room, keep the stock in a pot over medium heat so it is warm going into your risotto.  You will probably use four to five cups depending how fast the stock cooks off.  Keep adding the stock until your rice is al dente.  This technique is the same for all risotto recipes.

Now my leftovers come into play.  Once the rice was almost cooked, I added some sautéed mushrooms, a little duck confit, parmesan cheese and chopped herbs. Fold in the caramelized squash and adjust the final consistency with the stock; risotto shouldn’t lay flat like soup or be able to be piled into a hill.  It should be somewhere in between.  Enjoy the best leftovers ever.

David Indriksons is a Lead Class Assistant at The Chopping Block with a background that goes from small scale bistros to large scale catering and everything in between. In addition to a great love of food, he is a self-admitted travel junkie that enjoys hanging out with locals around the world and trying new cuisine. Outside of TCB, he enjoys skating, snowboarding, and playing with his dog, Caesar.

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