Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Butternut Squash Risotto


recipe: Ina Garten (better known as the Barefoot Contessa)

I found the most gorgeous butternut squash at the market recently. I just knew I had to do it justice and what better way to showcase an ingredient then in a creamy, cheesy risotto.

INGREDIENTS
· 1 butternut squash (2 lbs.)
· 2 tbsp. olive oil
· kosher salt and ground black pepper
· 6 cups of chicken stock
· 6 tbsp. unsalted butter (3/4 stick)
· 2 ounces pancetta, diced
· 1/2 cup minced shallots (2 large)
· 1 1/2 cup arborio rice (10 oz.)
· 1/2 cup dry white wine
· 1 cup parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
· preheat the oven to 400 degrees
· peel the butternut squash, remove the seeds and cut into 3/4 inch cubes. you should have about 6 cups.
· place the squash on a sheet pan and coat with olive oil, 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. roast for 25-30 minutes, tossing once until very tender.
· meanwhile, heat the chicken stock in a small covered saucepan. leave it on low to simmer.
· in a heavy-bottomed pot or dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the pancetta and shallots over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes or until the shallots are translucent. (we did not have pancetta or shallots, so I improvised with turkey bacon and yellow onions instead- still tasted great!)
· add the rice and stir to coat the grains with butter. add the wine and cook for 2 minutes. add 2 full ladles of stock to the rice, 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. stir and simmer the stock unitl absorbed (5-10 minutes).
· continue to add the stock, 2 ladles at a time, stirring every few minutes. each time, cook until the mixture seems a little dry, then add more stock.
· continue until the rice is cooked through but still al dente, about 30 minutes total.
· remove the risotto from the heat, add the roasted butternut squash and parmesan cheese. mix well and serve.


This was my first attempt at cooking risotto. I have always enjoyed it when other people make it. I just assumed it was too labor intensive and was a little scared I would mess it up. Risotto is so easy and it tastes good with everything- it just takes an ounce of patience- which I am pretty sure I have. We had this left over for days! This recipe triples its size while cooking. I know it's a winner when JJ wants to eat all of the left-overs. He is not normally a left-over kind of guy.
Hope you enjoy.

Mangia!

1 comment: