Winter Squash Risotto Recipes

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.

WINTER SQUASH RISOTTO

Steps:

• Cut squash into medium size pieces, scrape out seeds and stringy flesh and discard. Steam cleaned pieces of squash for 10 to 15 minutes until tender. Remove skin and mash smooth. Place stock in a saucepan and heat until simmering. In a large heavy saucepan over medium heat, fry bacon piece until crisp. Remove bacon, leaving grease in the pan. Crumble bacon for use as a garnish and set aside. Add oil and shallots and cook for about 2 minutes. Stir in the rice and cook for 5 minutes over moderately high heat. Stir slowly but constantly. This will "toast" the rice and start to turn it slightly golden and feel loose and dry. You should start to hear the rice "click." Add the wine all at once to the rice and cook over fairly high heat to boil it down. When the rice is almost dry, stir in 1 cup of stock and mashed squash. Simmer until the sock is absorbed. Continue adding stock 1 cup at a time and stirring until rice becomes creamy while the grains remain separate and firm, but not hard in the center of the grain. This should take about 15 to 20 minutes. Add the nutmeg, salt, pepper and rosemary and stir. Stir in the butter and 1/2 cup Parmesan. Place in individual serving bowls and sprinkle with remaining cheese, crumbled bacon and a sprig of rosemary. Enjoy! Yield: 4 to 6 main course servings
• Hints for success: The pot must be heavy on the bottom to keep the temperature even during the cooking process. Arborio is a short grained rice. It is very starchy, which is necessary to produce the desired result of a creamy risotto. Look for a fat opaque center in the rice, known as "LaPerla," this indicates a good starch content. Wine is the first liquid to be added to the rice. The first liquid will be absorbed totally and the acid in the wine balances the starch and adds flavor.
• Toasting the rice seals in the flavor. There should be about 3 times the amount of stock as rice. Make sure the stock is very hot. The stock is added slowly to the rice and releases the starch gradually, creating a creamy texture. Constant stirring is needed to produce the best results

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.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH RISOTTO

Steps:

• In a medium heavy-bottom saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add squash; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until edges soften, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add rice; stir to coat. Add wine; cook until almost all liquid has evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Reduce heat to medium-low; add 1/2 cup hot broth mixture. Cook, stirring, until almost all liquid is absorbed. Add remaining broth mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until liquid is absorbed before adding more, 35 to 40 minutes total.
• Stir in Parmesan, sage, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Serve immediately, garnished with more Parmesan and sage, if desired.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH RISOTTO

Steps:

• Place squash cubes into a steamer basket in a saucepan. Add water, cover, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Allow to steam until the squash is tender (10 to 15 minutes), then drain, and mash in a bowl with a fork.
• Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook and stir for 2 minutes until the onion begins to soften, then stir in the rice. Continue cooking and stirring until the rice is glossy from the butter, and the onion begins to brown on the edges, about 5 minutes more.
• Pour in the white wine; cook, stirring constantly, until it has evaporated. Stir in the mashed squash and 1/3 of the hot chicken stock; reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir until the chicken stock has been absorbed by the rice, 5 to 7 minutes. Add half of the remaining chicken stock, and continue stirring until it has been absorbed. Finally, pour in the remaining stock, and continue stirring until the risotto is creamy. Finish by stirring in the Parmesan cheese, and seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.

ALFRED'S WINTER-SQUASH RISOTTO

Steps:

• To make the roasted-garlic puree: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place the garlic in a small baking dish, and toss with the oil and 1 tablespoon water. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with aluminum foil; bake until the garlic is tender (squeeze one of the cloves to check), 25 to 35 minutes. Press garlic out of its skin into a bowl; mash with a fork. Set aside until ready to use.
• To make the spiced butter: Combine the butter, chervil, marjoram, cinnamon, ginger, and reserved garlic puree in a small bowl, and season with salt and pepper. Cover, and set aside at room temperature until ready to use. (You can prepare the butter up to 8 hours in advance, and store, refrigerated, in an airtight container.)
• To make the caramelized squash: In a large saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Place the squash in a bowl, and season with salt and pepper. Add squash to pan; cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 6 minutes. Cover; cook until tender, about 5 minutes more.
• Add the brown sugar; cook until squash has caramelized but still holds its shape, about 2 minutes. Set aside. (You may prepare the squash up to 1 hour in advance, and store, covered, at room temperature.)
• To prepare the risotto: In a large saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to a very low simmer.
• In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add bacon, and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add shallots, and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes more.
• Reduce the heat to medium low. Stir in the rice, sage, and thyme. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the rice is coated, has released its starch, turns a milky opaque white, and begins to stick to the bottom of the pan, 7 to 10 minutes.
• Add the wine, and boil until completely reduced, 2 to 3 minutes. Ladle about 1 cup of the simmering stock into the rice. Cook, stirring often, until the stock has almost been completely absorbed by the rice.
• Continue cooking and stirring, adding another 1 cup stock only when the previous addition has been absorbed. After 15 minutes, begin tasting the rice. At this point, add the remaining stock, a little at a time, stirring between additions, until the rice is firm yet cooked through, 18 to 20 minutes.
• Stir in the reserved spiced butter and the parsley, and season with salt and pepper. Gently fold in the reserved caramelized squash, keeping the individual pieces as intact as possible. Divide the risotto among warm bowls, and serve immediately.

WINTER WARMER HEARTY RISOTTO

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Peel the butternut squash, slice it in half, then scoop out and discard the seeds.
• Cut the flesh of the butternut squash into small cubes and put in a mixing bowl. Drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil over the squash, and season with black pepper, and nutmeg or cinnamon. Transfer the squash to a roasting tin and roast in the oven for about 25 mins until cooked through, then set aside.
• Heat the remaining oil in a large saucepan over a low heat. Add the onion and cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid. Allow the onion to cook without colouring for 5-10 mins, stirring occasionally.
• In a measuring jug, make up 1.5 litres of stock from boiling water and the stock cube. Stir well until the stock cube has dissolved. When the onion is soft, remove the lid and add the garlic to the onion pan. Leave it to cook for 1 min more.
• Rinse the rice under cold water. Turn up the heat on the pan and add the rice to the onion and garlic, stirring well for 1 min. Pour a little of the hot stock into the pan and stir in until the liquid is absorbed by the rice.
• Gradually add the rest of the stock to the pan, a little at a time, stirring constantly, waiting until each addition of stock is absorbed before adding more. Do this until the rice is cooked through and creamy - you may not need all the stock. This should take 15-20 mins. Take the roasting tin out of the oven - the squash should be soft and cooked.
• Add the squash, peas and sweetcorn to the risotto and gently stir it in. Season to taste. Take the risotto pan off the heat and stir in the Parmesan and herbs. Put the lid back on the pan and let the risotto stand for 2-3 mins before serving.

WONDERFUL WINTER SQUASH RISOTTO

Steps:

• Saute onion in the olive oil over low heat, about 10 minutes.
• Add the squash and 1/2 cup broth.
• Cover the pan, and cook until the squash is tender (about 10 mins).
• Add rice and wine, and cook until the wine is absorbed.
• Add 2-1/2 cups more broth, and simmer, uncovered until the liquid is absorbed (about 30 minutes).
• Add 1/2 cup more broth, and stir until rice is tender and creamy (about 5 minutes).
• Mix in the Parmesan cheese, and serve.

RISOTTO & BAKED WINTER SQUASH

Steps:

• Peel and cut up squash into cubes.
• Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and spread on a cookie sheet and bake 30-40 minutes at 425 degrees.
• Bring stock to a simmer and set aside.
• Heat last tablespoon of olive oil and add diced onion and cook still soft.
• Add 1/3 of cooked squash, minced garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Add rice and cook until separated.
• Stir in one ladleful of warm stock and add sage. Keep adding stock as it is absorbed. Takes about 20-25 minutes.
• Taste and add seasoning if needed.
• Add remaining squash another 1/2 cup of stock for that creamy risotto look.
• Add parmesan and parsley and last add pepper.