Risotto With Summer Squash And Fontina Recipes

LEMON RISOTTO WITH SUMMER SQUASH

Steps:

• Put your stock or broth into a saucepan, and bring it to a simmer over low heat with a ladle nearby or in the pot. Make sure that the stock or broth is well seasoned.
• Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a wide, heavy nonstick skillet. Add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Add the squash and a generous pinch of salt. Turn the heat up to medium high, and cook, stirring often, until the squash is translucent but not too soft, about five minutes.
• Stir in the rice and the garlic, and stir until the grains separate and begin to crackle. Add the wine, and stir until it has been absorbed. Turn the heat back down to medium, and begin adding the simmering stock a couple of ladlefuls (about 1/2 cup) at a time. The stock should just cover the rice and should be bubbling, not too slowly but not too quickly. Cook, stirring often, until the rice is just about absorbed. Add another ladleful or two of the stock, and continue to cook in this fashion, stirring in more stock when the rice is almost dry. You do not have to stir constantly, but stir often.
• When the rice is tender all the way through but still chewy, in about 25 minutes, it is done. Taste now and adjust seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste. Add another ladleful of stock to the rice. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley and Parmesan. Remove from the heat. The mixture should be creamy (add more stock if it isn't). Serve right away in wide soup bowls or on plates, spreading the risotto in a thin layer rather than a mound.

BAKED RISOTTO WITH WINTER SQUASH

Steps:

• Peel squash and cut into very thin slices, 1/16-inch thick. Then cut slices into flat 2-inch squares. (Reserve the scraps, including peels, to make squash stock if desired.)
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add rice and let simmer for 8 minutes so it is parcooked, with the grains still hard in the center. Drain rice in a colander, rinse with cold water, then spread on a baking sheet to cool. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
• In a Dutch oven, melt 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add leek and saffron, if using, and stir to coat. When leek is softened but still green, after 2 minutes, add squash, stir to coat and turn off heat. Season well with salt and pepper.
• Add parcooked rice, hot broth, Gruyère, ricotta, Parmesan and lemon zest, mixing gently with a wooden spoon. Pour rice mixture into a buttered 3-quart baking dish.
• Sprinkle top with bread crumbs, pressing down to smooth surface. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Tent with foil if necessary. Garnish with parsley just before serving.

RISOTTO WITH SUNCHOKES, BUTTERNUT SQUASH, AND GORGONZOLA

Steps:

• Warm broth in a saucepan over low heat.
• Warm olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in shallot and butternut squash and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, peel and dice sunchokes, adding them to the saucepan immediately to prevent oxidation. Mix with the other vegetables. Add rice; stir and toast until pale, about 3 minutes. Pour in white wine, stirring constantly until fully absorbed.
• Pour 1/2 cup broth into the rice and stir until absorbed. Continue adding broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender yet firm to the bite, 15 to 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and add Gorgonzola cheese. Stir well until cheese is melted. Allow to rest for 2 minutes before serving.

FONTINA MAC WITH SQUASH AND SAGE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°. On a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, shape Parmesan into 8 2-inch rounds. Bake until golden, 10 minutes; remove from sheet to cool. Cook pasta as directed on package; set aside. In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt 2 teaspoons butter. Cook whole sage leaves until crisp, 45 seconds. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate, reserving butter. In the same skillet over medium heat, melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly, until light brown, 1 minute. Slowly whisk in milk and cook, 5 minutes. Add squash, garlic, reserved butter and salt. Cover; simmer until squash is very soft, 25 minutes. In a food processor, puree squash mixture. In a pot over medium-low heat, heat squash puree, Fontina, Swiss, chopped sage and cayenne; stir until cheese melts. Stir in pasta. Serve with Parmesan crisps and sage leaves.

SUMMER SQUASH AND TOMATO RISOTTO

Steps:

• Mince the onion, keeping the onion pieces about the same size as the rice grains. Dice the zucchini, reserving the ends.
• Remove the tomatoes from the oven. Discard the basil leaves. Purée the tomatoes in a food processor or by hand by chopping and mincing the tomatoes on a cutting board until no chunks remain. Set aside ½ cup of Tomato Purée. (Reserve the remainder for another use.)
• Melt 2 tablespoons of cold butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the onions and cook very slowly, until the onion is tender but has taken on no color. In a separate sauce pot, bring vegetable stock to a simmer, and infuse with the zucchini ends and basil stems.
• Add the rice to the butter and onion soffritto and toast, stirring with a spoon, for about 4 minutes. Toast at a low heat; do not let the rice take on color. When the rice is toasted and the grains are a nice white color, add the wine and cook over moderate heat until all the wine is reduced. Set a timer to 16 minutes. Start adding the hot stock to the rice, one ladle at a time, just covering the rice. Repeat, adding more stock, each time the liquid has absorbed into the rice. Continue to stir after each addition of stock and wine. (Note: At the eight-minute mark, move on to step 6.)
• At the eight-minute or halfway mark, add the zucchini. Continue cooking for the final eight minutes while adding the remaining stock. Dice the remaining cold butter and set aside. When the timer goes off, let the rice rest for about thirty seconds but no more, to prevent cooling. Finish by adding the Parmigiano-Reggiano, Tomato Purée, diced butter, and squash blossoms (optional); then stir.
• Season with the salt and adjust the rice with some warm stock if necessary. The final consistency should be creamy and spread slowly on the plate. Serve immediately on warmed plates. Garnish with a chiffonade of mixed basil leaves.
• (Note: If you want to skip making the Tomato Puree, combine 1/2 cup of plain tomato sauce with 1 grated clove of garlic.) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Core the tomatoes. With a sharp knife, cut the tomatoes through the equator and lay cut side up on a half-sheet pan fitted with a wire rack. Season the tomatoes with the salt evenly. Cut the garlic into thin slices and place a slice of garlic on each tomato half. Finish with some basil chiffonade on each tomato. Drizzle the tomatoes with olive oil and roast in the oven, 1 1/2 hours.

ACORN SQUASH RISOTTO

Steps:

• Place acorn squash cut-side down on a large microwave-safe plate. Cook in the microwave until very soft, about 15 minutes. Let cool until easily handled, about 5 minutes.
• Peel squash, discarding skin. Combine squash flesh, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and rosemary in a bowl; mash to combine.
• Pour vegetable broth into a saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat.
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in rice until coated with butter. Pour in wine, stirring until reduced, about 3 minutes.
• Ladle 1/3 of the vegetable broth into the pot; cook and stir until absorbed. Repeat this process twice more, stirring constantly, until rice is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
• Stir fontina cheese and Parmesan cheese into the rice until melted. Add mashed squash and remaining 2 tablespoons butter; stir until butter is melted and squash is heated through, 2 to 4 minutes.

SUN-DRIED TOMATO & FONTINA RISOTTO

Steps:

• Bring the broth to a steady simmer in a saucepan.
• In a 4-qt. dutch oven over moderate heat, heat the butter and oil (from sun-dried tomatoes). Add the onion and saute just until it begins to soften (about 2 minutes).
• Add the rice to the pan and stir for one minute, making sure the grains are all well coated. Add the wine and stir until it is completely absorbed.
• Begin to add the simmering broth one-half cup at a time, stirring frequently. Wait until each addition is almost completely absorbed before adding the next half-cup, reserving about 1/4 cup to add at the end. Stir frequently to prevent rice from sticking.
• Add the sun-dried tomatoes and tomato paste after the rice has been cooking for about 10 minutes. Continue to add the broth, one-half cup at a time.
• After the rice is tender (about 18-25 minutes), add the final broth and the fontina, parsley and Parmesan. Stir for 1-2 minutes until cheeses are melted and combined with the rice.

RISOTTO WITH SUMMER SQUASH AND FONTINA

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a heavy 2-quart saucepan.
• Add in the onion and cook slowly over low heat until it is very soft and just beginning to take on color.
• Add the squash and continue cooking over low heat until squash is nearly tender.
• Add the rice and, stirring constantly, saute until the grains of rice are opaque and make a clicking sound against the metal of the saucepan, about 1-2 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the broth until it is very hot; turn off the heat, but keep the broth hot on a warm burner.
• Add the white wine to the rice and cook slowly, stirring constantly, until it is completely absorbed.
• Add the hot broth to the rice one ladleful at a time, stirring frequently.
• The rice should cook very slowly over low heat.
• Wait until all the liquid is absorbed before adding the next ladleful of broth.
• Midway in the cooking time, add salt and pepper.
• When the rice is just barely tender, add the fontina and gently cook, stirring continuously, until the cheese begins to soften.
• Add the basil, 2 tablespoons butter, and the Parmesan cheese.
• Turn off the heat and stir vigorously until all the butter and cheese are absorbed.
• Pass additional Parmesan at the table.