Risotto Di Zucca Winter Squash Risotto Recipes

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 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

RISOTTO ALLA ZUCCA- BUTTERNUT SQUASH RISOTTO

Steps:

• Cook the squash. Either microwave butternut squash in a covered casserole dish cut side down, covered until soft (about 15 minutes depending on your microwave) or roast by rubbing the squash with oil and placing them on a baking sheet cut side down and cooking them in a 400° oven for approximately 50 minutes. Scoop out inside of squash and gently mash. It will yield approximately 2 C. Roasting vs. Microwaving- Roasting concentrates the flavor of the squash, but if time is an issue (as it usually is at my house) the microwave can be used the steam the squash with speedy and fantastic results. Heat oil in a large pot; add shallots and cook few minutes at low heat. Meanwhile, heat broth and water in another pot and keep hot. Add rice to the oil, kick up heat to medium high and cook a few minutes until the rice starts turning translucent. Add wine stir until absorbed. Add a couple ladles-full of broth. Continue adding broth one or two ladles at a time, stirring frequently. After the first addition of broth add the squash and a couple big pinches of salt. Cook until done about 20 minutes. When rice is nearly done add rosemary, black pepper and more salt if needed. It's done when the rice is creamy and still firm in the center but not crunchy, just al dente! Taste to make sure. Off the heat, add the grated Parmigiano and whip it in. Buon appetito!

RISOTTO DI ZUCCA (WINTER SQUASH RISOTTO)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200°C (390-400°F). Cut pumpkin in half crosswise and scoop out the seeds and stringy material. Wash in plain cold water. Place the pumpkin halves on a baking sheet and bake for about 1-1/2 hours or until the flesh is very tender when pierced with a fork. Don't worry if the edges are browned. The natural sugars actually caramelize and give it a richer more complex flavor. When it is cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and mush it with a fork. Set aside half of the puree. You can freeze the other half in a plastic bag or air-tight container for another risotto. In a saucepan over medium heat, warm up the stock In a large saucepan heat 50 g (4 T) butter. Add the chopped onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes over medium heat. Add the rice and stir thoroughly for about 3 minutes, in order to "coat" the rice well with the butter and onions. (This helps regulate absorption of the wine.) Add the wine and stir until is completely absorbed Add a soup ladle or two of the stock until the rice is just covered, and stir continuously with a wooden spoon. When the stock is almost completely absorbed, repeat this process for about 15 minutes (it depends on the rice's cooking time, which should be clearly indicated on the package) Add the squash and cook for about 2 minutes. The end of the cooking is critical for the final texture of the dish, so when the rice is nearly tender to the bite, but with just a hint of resistance (al dente), and the liquid you have added up to this point has been mostly absorbed (the risotto should seem a bit "soupy"), add the Parmesan and butter to taste, about 30 g (2 T). Remove your risotto from the heat. At this point, stir the risotto vigorously to blend in the cheese and butter. You can also add some salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Let it stand for 1 or 2 minutes and serve immediately (plan your timing well - it is very easy to overcook risotto!).