Peking Duck Risotto

This interesting sounding combination is actually a real recipe I found in a book! A book only of risotto recipes! A book we actually own! I think it's the first dish any of us have made from it; coming from Northern Italy, risotto making is ingrained in the family. Having said that, I can count on one hand the number of times I've actually made it myself.
The book, Risotto 'round The World is interesting; it's by an Australian author and has some excellent basic recipes. It's when she starts getting into the weird and wacky combinations (chicken, marmalade, pineapple & coconut milk risotto, anyone?) that my eyebrows start to rise. Hmmmmm. But there are some great combinations in there; I'm just not sure you need a whole recipe book for them. Surely you can just use your imagination? Use a basic risotto technique and combine whatever is in your pantry or fridge?
One of the good combinations, and a real East-West fusion dish is her Peking Duck risotto. Having left over Peking duck from our local shop, which I've mentioned before I decided to use the meat in a risotto for a nice Friday night dinner. It was a good choice, and tasted very nice. Still developing my risotto technique meant that it was a little more gluggy and solid than I would have liked; I prefer a more liquidy risotto. The crispy pieces of duck skin on top were fabulous, though!!

Peking Duck Risotto


1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
8 spring onions (shallots), finely chopped
400g arborio rice
200ml dry white wine
1 cooked Peking duck (or whatever amount you have)
800ml duck stock (or chicken stock)
4 baby bok choy halved or quartered lengthways
200g sliced water chestnuts
1/2 cup boiling duck stock, extra
3 tablespoons fresh corinader, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Cut duck into manageable portion and strip all flesh from the bones. Reserve skin.
In a saucepan, heat the olive and sesame oils and add the spring onions. Cook gently for two minutes until softened, then add the rice and stir to coat. Add the wine and allow the liquid to absorb while stirring. Begin adding the boiling stock, half a cup at a time, stirring very well after each addition and always allowing each previous quantity of stock to be absorved before adding the next amount. With the second addition of stock, add the bok choy. When half the stock has been used, add the Peking duck and stir to incorporate. Continue adding stock.
With the last addition of stock, add the drained water chestnuts. When all the liquid has been absorbed, remove the pan from the heat. Add all the remaining fresh herbs and mix well. Serve the risotto garnished with crispy duck skin (which you can recrisp by putting under a hot grill for a few minutes...yummy!)