Friday, December 25, 2009

Butternut Squash Risotto

This is pretty much a winter staple at our house. Add panchetta or chicken if you like.

3 boxes of chicken or veggie stock/broth
2-3 cups of Aborio rice or Carnaroli if you can find it
1 Medium onion diced
1 shallot diced
4 cloves of garlic
Olive oil
White pepper
Salt
Bay leaf
1 Medium butternut squash
Blackstrap molasses
White corn syrup
Paprika

Peel the squash and cut off the ends. Cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp. Cut into 1/2" cubes and toss in a stoneware dish or glass casserole dish. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and corn syrup and drizzle with molasses. Dust a little paprika on top and toss until well incorporated. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until soft when poked with a toothpick.

Empty your stock/broth into a sauce pan and heat until it is just steaming. Dice up your onion, shallot, and garlic. Sautee in olive oil with the bay leaf until soft and translucent. *This Step Is Important so DO NOT SKIP IT* Add the rice and mix until the grains are coated with oil. Let this toast for a minute or two. This will help release the starches in the grain and make it more creamy. Slowly ladle stock until the rice is covered. Begin stirring and do not stop. Ever. Even if your wife is in labor. Continue to add stock as the rice soaks it up. You will know the rice is getting close to done when while you are stirring you can no longer feel individual grains hitting the spoon or spatula. Once the grains are soft through the center turn the heat down and add the squash.

Remove from the heat and grate some Parmesean or Peccerino on top. You can add sage leaves or vanilla bean to add different flavors.

Mangia!



3 comments:

Jenny said...

Just finished off my risotto from lunch. So damn good!!

It means Grace said...

This will be attempted in the very near future. Thank you for stopping my risotto hatred.

The Nanny said...

Mmmmm I am *definitely* trying this. I love butternut squash. Do you have a recipe for butternut squash ravioli (cheese-less), by any chance?