Oh, no! Duck confit again??

You can imagine my dilemma. Having a couple of pesky duck confit legs left over from my confit project a couple of weeks ago (from this recipe; worked beautifully, maybe even better than the first time). Maybe "dilemma" isn't the right word. A dilemma would be having duck confit legs that your dog dragged off the counter and wolfed down, like "what a dilemma, I like my dog but now I'm going to have to kill him". How about "opportunity"? Much more positive.

So in the long list of ways to take advantage of this opportunity...risotto, salad, sauce, etc....a simple seasonal pasta sounded perfect, especially since w had picked up a rather large bag of fresh favas at the farmer's market. Of course as we all know a large bag of favas quickly becomes a small dish of favas (and every time I shell them, I can't help but feel sorry for the poor prep bitch at any restaurant who has to do a dinner service's worth. That would so quickly suck). In keeping this simple and light, yet really focus on the duck and favas, I only added some fennel to the mix, a little garlic, a sprinkle of parma and that was it. Obviously this recipe is endlessly adaptable with what is available at the markets right now. It's all about being a vehicle for the glory that is duck confit. If you haven't been inspired to make this duck confit before, hopefully this will spur you on. It really is SO incredibly easy. And maybe you'll find yourself with the same "dilemma" as I did!
*** *** *** *** ***
Duck Confit Pasta with fresh favas and fennel
an E.D.T. original
(click here for printable recipe)

ingredients:
2 duck confit legs with meat shredded off
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds fresh favas, shelled and with outer skins removed
1 large fennel bulb, chopped in half, removing fibrous cores at bottom of bulb, and sliced thinly crosswise (with some chopped fronds reserved if attached. This is optional)
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Parmigiano-Reggiano for sprinkling
1 pound dry pasta (it doesn't really matter what kind. I liked how the fusilli worked)

method:
Put large pot of water on to boil. When water comes to boil, add small handful of salt and pasta and cook until desired doneness.

While water comes to boil, add olive oil to sauté pan over medium-high heat. When pan is hot add sliced fennel and sauté until softened, about 8-10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes, turn heat down to medium-low, add favas and duck ad briefly until heated through (you don't want the duck to cook any further).

Drain pasta and combine with duck-fava mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Plate immediately, top with chopped fennel fronds and a drizzle of olive oil. Pass grated parma for sprinkling.

Celebrate the season: Spring Risotto w/ favas, morels, and pancetta

When you have raw materials as beautiful as those above, you don't want to muck them up in any heavy sauces. Risotto is one of the best ways to reward yourself for suffering through a long winter and the perfect place to showcase the bright, fresh spring vegetables bursting out of the produce stands and farmer's markets. And now, my favorite bit of spring is just peeking out of their pods, those legumes from heaven known as fava beans. I used to think of favas as a major pain-in-the-ass, what with the shucking from their fuzzy-on-the-inside pods, then par boiling, then careful peeling of their outer skin, all that before you are left with this tiny pile of beans as a reward for your efforts. Now that I think of it they are still a pain in the ass, but now that I actually know several ways to bend them to my will, I overlook their neediness and enjoy them for what they are. In pastas, whipped up into a dip, and in a risotto like this, their sweet-nutty character really adds tons of flavor interest. Plus the fact that they are around for such a short period of time makes them all the more precious.
This recipe pairs them with spring's other treasure, the heady morels that happen to be my favorite mushroom. Intensely earthy, they also hold a good chew through cooking. Here I mix them with some shiitakes and maitakes for even more complexity. This risotto comes together so easily, and is wide open to riffing. I could see adding a tablespoon of lemon zest, or leaving the pancetta out for a vegetarian version.....well, actually I couldn't see why you'd want to do that, but I know there are some special needs people out there. Bottom line is this is a great main course for 2 or 4, or a perfect first course at your spring dinners!
*** *** ***
Spring Risotto w/ favas, morels, and pancetta
an E.D.T. original

ingredients:
1 to 1-1/2# fresh favas in their pod
40 oz. chicken stock
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 oz. pancetta chopped to a 1/4" dice
3/4# morels, maitakes, shiitake, or other wild mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 cup diced onion
1-1/2 cups arborio or carnaroli rice
1/2 cup white wine or dry vermouth
1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

method:
1- Bring water to boil in medium sauce pan. Remove favas from their pods. Drop shells (still with skins on) into boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from pan and drop into ice bath to stop cooking. When cool carefully peel outer skins and set peeled favas aside.

2- Put chicken stock into medium saucepan and bring to simmer. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to medium sized sauté pan over medium heat. Cook pancetta until it is browned and slightly crisp. Remove pancetta into small bowl and set aside. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat from sauté pan, add 1 tablespoon butter. When butter melts and foam subsides, add mushrooms and cook until softened, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat, and and pancetta back to this pan.

3- Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter to medium sauce pan over medium heat. When butter melts add onion and cook until softened, about five minutes. Add rice and stir for about 1 minute. Add wine and stir until almost fully absorbed by rice. Start adding chicken stock about 3/4 cup at a time, stirring constantly (Okay, you don't have to stir constantly, but at least 85%-90% of the time. It isn't that hard, I promise!). When rice is soft yet still with some bite (you'll know, I promise), add mushroom/pancetta to the rice. Stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat, add favas and 3/4 cup of cheese, stirring to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately with light sprinkle of Parmagiano.

Fava fabulousness!

They're not just green. That would almost be an insult to the shiny, almost vibratingly vivid green that emerges from the thin outer membrane surrounding these edible emeralds in early summer. Fava beans. Every year when I first see these at the Farmer's Market I am sent scrambling to my recipe archives to find new things to do with them. Last night I added them to what looked to be a delicious risotto by Jean-Georges Vongerichten that I spied a while ago on Food & Wine magazine's website. Seeing as how my beloved Meyer lemon tree had a couple of perfect, perfumey lemons waiting to be picked, I googled Meyer lemon recipes and this came up on the screen. Since I also had a pound or so of favas in the fridge, why not make a good thing even better? I had a feeling the favas would work well with the lemony flavor of the risotto, plus add a nice texture contrast with the rice. It worked wonderfully, and this decadently rich risotto will wow your dining companions. I can't wait for leftovers at lunch!

For all of you who think favas are too much work, they aren't. Even if they were, they'd be worth the effort. The prep for the favas for this dish took exactly ten minutes. If you're not in a risotto mood, simply lightly sautéing them in butter as a simple, elegant side dish is hard to beat.

**********************

Meyer Lemon Risotto with Basil
adapted from Food & Wine Magazine
6 first course servings
If you can't find any Meyer lemons, use regular (Eureka) lemons.

ingredients
* 6 cups homemade chicken stock (or...if you must...canned low-sodium broth)
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
* 1 tender inner celery rib, finely chopped, plus 1/4 cup chopped leaves
* 1/2 Thai chile, minced
* Salt and freshly ground pepper
* 1 garlic clove, minced
* 1 1/2 cups arborio rice (10 ounces)
* 1/2 cup white vermouth
* 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
* 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
* 2 tablespoons finely grated Meyer lemon zest (or 2 tablespoon finely grated Eureka lemon zest)
* 2 tablespoons fresh Meyer lemon juice (or 2 tablespoons fresh Eureka lemon juice)
* 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons julienned basil leaves
* 1 1/2 pounds fava beans...to prep: shell beans from outer pods, blanch beans for 60 seconds, then gently squeeze beans to separate favas from the outer membrane. Set shelled favas aside.

directions
1. Bring the stock to a boil in a medium saucepan, cover and keep hot. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the onion, celery rib and chile, season with salt and pepper and cook over low heat, stirring, until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the celery leaves and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the rice and cook, stirring until glossy, about 1 minute.
2. Add the vermouth to the rice and simmer over moderate heat until almost absorbed, about 3 minutes. Add the hot stock, 1 cup at a time, and cook, stirring constantly between additions, until most of the stock has been absorbed before adding more. The rice is done when it's tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes total. When the rice is amost done, melt one tablespoon butter in a small nonstick sauté pan, add favas and sauté for about 60 seconds, just enough to wram them up. Stir in the 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, the mascarpone, the lemon zests and juices, favas, and the basil. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the risotto into bowls and serve, passing additional Parmesan at the table.