Roast Goose Risotto & Other “Leftover” Morsels a la Marketman…

Died and went to heaven GOOD. I kid you not. If you’ve never tasted a (leftover) roast goose risotto, you can’t die yet. With an abundant amount of leftover goose and duck from our Christmas Eve dinner, I was bound to experiment to ensure little went to waste.

First up a simple but freshly made patani spread served with leftover slices of toasted baguette for a light and healthy starter.

A wild arugula salad with different colored and shaped cherry tomatoes and little balls of mozzarella and a simple vinaigrette.

Some deep-fried kalabasa/squash blossoms. We stuffed the blossoms with some gorgeous kesong puti (the leftovers from a terrific gift from friends) and a single boquerones in each bloom before coating the flowers in a light tempura batter made with 3/4 of a (small) plastic bottle of club soda and flour that was chilled before use. These were so light and misleadingly good — deadly on the calorie count, I am sure. The crisp bloom revealed a burst of salty melted white cheese and the distinct flavor of homemade marinated sardines… YUM.

But the slam dunk winner of the evening was this enormous bowl of roast goose risotto. To make, strip the meat off the carcass and simmer the goose bones with some onions, carrots and celery for 2 hours to create a really flavorful goose broth. We separated out about 8 tablespoons of goose fat floating on the surface of the broth and set that aside. Next, I sautéed some chopped onions in some olive oil and then added arborio rice to coat with oil. I started to introduce some of the now simmering goose broth ladle by ladle and stirred constantly. The cook kept up with that pot and in another sauté pan I sautéed 2-3 kinds of mushrooms (whatever we had left in the fridge) in some olive oil and set that aside. I also browned some of the shredded goose meat in some of the leftover goose fat. When the rice was roughly 5 minutes from finishing, I added the sautéed mushrooms and the browned goose meat and seasoned with salt and pepper. Just before taking off the flames, I added two knobs of butter and copious amounts of freshly grated parmesan cheese. Then bits of shredded and browned goose meat, large shavings of parmesan on top of the risotto and a sprinkling of chopped Italian parsley. This was heaven. This dish alone and a salad would have made a wonderful dinner.

A typical plateful of “leftover goodies” — the deep-fried squash blossoms served with some leftover roasted red bell peppers in olive oil.

A chunk of leftover double cream cheese for anyone so inclined.

And a simple macedonia or chopped mixed fruit with a tad of orange liquer to finish off odds and ends in the fruit drawer. Sometimes, leftovers are just as good if not better than the main meal.