Delicata Squash Risotto Recipes

DELICATA SQUASH RISOTTO

Steps:

• Grab two large pans (one for risotto and one for rosemary and squash) and one medium pot (for stock) and put them all over medium-high heat.
• In the medium pot, add your stock. Grab your delicata squash and trim the ends. Cut the squash in half, longways and scrape out the guts. Add the guts to the stock to infuse flavor.
• Dice up your onion. Drizzle one of the large pans with olive oil and toss in the onions. Sweat the onions (removing moisture but not caramelizing). Add your rice to the onions. Toast the rice in the oil, coating the rice kernels, and cook for about 1 minute. Then add white wine and stir, it will absorb quickly.
• In your remaining pan, drizzle with olive oil. Remove rosemary from stems. Once the oil is hot, tip the pan, allowing the oil to pool. Now toss in the rosemary, you should hear a pop! Let it sizzle while you check the risotto.
• Grab a ladle and a spider. We're going to add a few ladles full of stock to the risotto pan, catching the squash guts in the spider as we go. Add just enough to cover the rice.
• Grab one of your squash halves and trim into half moons (save the other squash half for another use). Remove the rosemary from the oil, leaving the rosemary infused oil in the pan. Add the squash to the pan, frying it up in the rosemary oil. Season the squash with a pinch of salt and a sprinkling of aleppo chili, and toss to combine. Give the rosemary a quick rough chop and set aside for garnish.
• Ladle a bit more stock into the risotto (through the spider to catch the guts). Toss your parm rind into the risotto. Remove your risotto from heat. Add butter and half of the grated parm. You can now remove the rind, it only needs to be in there for a short time. Season with salt and toss.
• Grab a large plate. Add your risotto to cover the plate. Top with the squash. Finally, garnish with fried rosemary, the remaining grated parm, and a drizzle olive oil. Risotto in under 15 minutes, what?!
• Hot Tip: Squash seeds - Save your squash seeds and dry them out in the oven for a snack, salad topper, soup garnish, whatever

RISOTTO WITH ROASTED WINTER SQUASH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Cover a baking sheet with foil. Toss the squash with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and spread on the baking sheet in an even layer. Place in the oven and roast for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until tender and caramelized. Remove from the heat.
• Bring the stock to a simmer in a saucepan.
• Heat the remaining oil over medium heat in a large, heavy nonstick frying pan or a wide saucepan and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until the onion begins to soften, about 3 minutes, and add one third of the squash, the garlic, and about 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, until the onion is tender and the garlic fragrant, about 1 minute, and add the rice. Cook, stirring, until the grains of rice are separate.
• Stir in the wine and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. The wine should bubble, but not too quickly. When the wine has just about evaporated, stir in a ladleful or two of the simmering stock, enough to just cover the rice and squash. The stock should bubble slowly. Cook, stirring often, until it is just about absorbed. Add the sage and another ladleful of the stock, and continue to cook in this fashion, not too fast and not too slowly, adding more stock when the rice is almost dry, for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the rice is cooked al dente. Taste and adjust seasonings.
• Add the remaining roasted squash and another 1/2 cup of stock to the rice. Stir in the Parmesan and parsley, and immediately remove from the heat. Add freshly ground pepper, taste one last time and adjust salt. The rice should be creamy. Serve at once.

DELICATA SQUASH RISOTTO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Cut squash in half and scrape out seeds. Discard seeds or roast them separately as you would with pumpkin seeds.
• Slice squash into 1-inch strips. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over the squash and toss to coat. Place the squash strips on a baking sheet and roast until tender, about 30 minutes.
• While the squash is roasting, heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a heavy bottom saucepan over medium heat.
• Add onion and cook until softened and opaque, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and allspice, stir, and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).
• Add rice and stir to combine. Continue stirring and cooking until the edges of the rice are translucent and the center is still opaque, about 2 minutes.
• Add wine and stir to combine. Cook until the rice absorbs the wine, stirring occasionally.
• Add warm broth, a ladle at a time, stirring after each addition and occasionally stirring while cooking. Wait to add each ladle of broth until the rice has almost soaked up the last addition.
• Test the rice after you have added about 3 cups of broth to see if it is done. It should be al dente, with just a bit of chew to it and not completely soft or mushy.
• Note the risotto will not taste fully seasoned at this point. It will get saltiness from the parmesan cheese.
• The risotto is ready when it is similar to a thick porridge and have a creamy consistency.
• Add one more ladle of broth, remaining 2 tablespoons butter, and parmesan cheese. Stir to combine.
• Cut the roasted squash into bite-sized chunks and gently stir into the risotto. Serve immediately.