(serves 6-8)

Ingredients: For the risotto

*1 lb. Arborio Rice
*1 medium Onion, fine diced
*3 cups White Wine
*6 cups Chicken Stock (heated)
*1 tbs. Olive Oil

For the dish:
*¼ cup Duck Confit, diced
*2 whole Figs, diced
*2 tbs. Cherry Tomatoes, quartered
*1 tbs. Mascarpone Cheese
*1 tsp. Parmesan Cheese
*½ tsp. Lemon Zest
*3 tbs. Butternut Squash, roasted

*PX sauce Pedro Ximenez Noble sour (Substitute: Jerez Sherry Vinegar if unable to find PX sauce)

Garnish: Sauté Brussel Sprout Leaves

Instructions: Estimated Cooking Time: 18 minutes

1. Sauté the onions in olive oil until tender.

2. In a risotto or heavy bottom sauce pan, mix the rice and the sautéed onions. Cook the rice on medium heat until it becomes opaque. Deglaze the rice with 3 cups of white wine. Cook until dry (all liquid have evaporated).

3. Continually stir in a circular motion. This is crucial for risotto.

4. Add 2 cups of the hot chicken stock at a time. Each time, cook until the rice is dry. Repeat twice.

5. Keep stirring.

6. When rice is close to al dente, add the duck confit, butternut squash, and figs.

7. Keep stirring.

8. Add marscapone cheese and parmesan, finish with lemon zest and tomatoes.

9. Keep stirring.

10. The finished product should have a creamy texture.

11. Garnish with brussel sprouts

12. Add a drizzle of the Jerez Sherrry Vinegar or the PX sauce for accent..

Notes about Risotto: It takes a little bit of practice to begin with, and a certain amount of concentration thereafter. Risotti are also very sensitive to timing, When buying rice to make a risotto, choose either round or semi-round rice. The best rices for making risotti are Arborio and Vialone Nano. Long grained rice such as Patna won't do, because the grains will stay separate. Nor should you use minute rice -- it won't absorb the condiments, and again the grains will remain separate.

How rice got to Italy:
It was introduced by the Arabs who dominated Sicily and parts of the Southern mainland in the late Middle Ages (arancini di riso come to mind), but proved best suited to the vast marshy regions of the Po Valley, where it was enthusiastically adopted by the residents of the Veneto region, Lombardia and Piemonte.

Risotto is a traditional Italian dish made with a suitable variety of rice such as Arborio, Carnaroli or Vialone Nano. It is one of the most common ways of cooking rice in Italy. It originated in North Italy, specifically Eastern Piedmont, Western Lombardy, and Veneto (where the Vialone Nano comes from) where rice paddies are abundant. It is one of the pillars of Milanese cuisine.

Used in risotto, Arborio is a white, short grained rice grown the in Piedmont and Lombardy regions of northern Italy. Arborio rice, a pearly-looking, round, fat, Italian white rice, forms the foundation of risotto, the dish. Riso means rice in Italian. Like other rices,

Arborio is a member of the grass family. What distinguishes it is a higher than normal amount of soluble starch that is released during cooking. The starch is what makes a risotto creamy.

Arborio rice takes about eighteen minutes to cook. It is done when it is al dente, tender on the outside and firm in the center. Risotto, the dish, refers not only to the rice but to the specific technique of cooking it. Risotto is loved because of its versatility and the richness of the dish which can be made without cream.

Arborio rice is the rice used for risotto,which comes from Northern Italy, the Piedmont region, It was brought to Itialy in the middle ages from Arabs.

It takes finess and constant stirring to make a great risotto. Not all long grain rices work as well because of the lack of starch, and the shorter, fatter arborio rice grains. This dish evokes the holidays, with the richness of duck confit, and the sweetness of butternut squash and Marscapone cheese. It makes for a great holiday feast, seafood, meat and vegetarian can be made, with limitless possibilities.