Bubble, Bubble Toil and Trouble

Every time the seasons change I declare: this is my favorite time for cooking.

In spring, it's the berries, the asparagus, the lovely leafy greens that fill my head with dreams of fresh fruit compotes, simply steamed spears of tender goodness, and crisp mounds of lightly dressed  baby greens. Through summer I thrill to the infinite variety of tomatoes, corn, summer squash, string beans, peaches, raspberries -- the list is endless.  As fall arrives, I look forward to apple pie season, of course,and all the wonderful root vegetables, but most of all I enjoy the weekly habit of making stock. 

I don't do stock in the summer months because it makes the house too hot. Usually I have stock in the freezer if I need it, but the summer months are for lighter fare so I find myself less inclined to its use.

This past weekend I made a very nice, rich broth for making risotto.  My son asked me to make risotto like the dishes we enjoyed in Rome last October.  It had been a long while since I'd made risotto, so I decided to make shrimp risotto with fava beans. 

Ah!

Cooking tip: I always heat the Arborio rice on low for about 5 minutes before adding liquids. I got this tip from my risotto expert and friend who lives in Bologna. It makes the risotto creamier. Don't forget to finish the dish with melted butter. Trust me, these are steps not to be left out.

But first we needed stock.  I coarsely chopped a clove of garlic, four stalks of celery, three carrots, a tomato, an onion and a red pepper and dumped them into a stockpot with some chicken, a dash of salt, a few bay leaves, some lemon thyme, oregano and coriander seed.   Then I topped it all off with water and brought it to a boil before turning it down to simmer for a few hours.  That done, I drained off the liquids and put them into the fridge to let the fat solidify for easy removal.

It sounds like a lot of work, but it really isn't. Stock makes the whole house smell wonderful and it's so good for so many dishes -- soups, risottos, pastas, simple broths, polenta.

We had the risotto for dinner with a tossed salad and freshly grated parmesan reggiano.  I was as content as a cat who'd just lapped up a bowl of wam milk.