A Holiday Essence

Just to clarify and make sure you don't think we've became a vegetarian blog (although there are quite a few I read and regularly enjoy) I thought I'd share a dish that perhaps illustrates best the approach that we're taking to what Daniel mentioned in his previous post. I've titled the post just the essence because it shows how little of something we can use and still find a delicious and satisfying tribute to the holidays. 

The idea for the dish was a little bit of an accident. I was making myself dinner one night during the week when Daniel had to work and thought I was thawing some leftover soup. As a finished thawing and warming it up, I realized that what I had accidentally thawed instead was the remnants of the turkey stock we made after Thanksgiving. I decided to keep it in the fridge for a day, hoping to come across a use for it that would provide a veggy heavy tribute to holiday indulgences. While looking across our newest cookbook, Peter Berley's The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen, I came across a recipe for an Autumn Quinoa Risotto with Pumpkin and Sage. Obviously, its no longer autumn, but I decided a winter squash or butternut squash might work out okay.

To my delight, not only did the squash substitute work out perfectly, but the addition of the quinoa in the risotto made the dish exceptionally filling without becoming too starchy. The balance between the protein rich quinoa and the arborio rice, combined with the squash, turkey broth, and sage flavors made the dish a satisfying reward for a long January day. 

Quinoa Risotto with Butternut Squash adapted from The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen

 4-5 Cups Stock
Olive Oil to Coat the Pan
1/2 Cup Leek finely chopped (white part)
2 Cups cubed butternut or winter squash
1/2 Cup Arborio Rice
1/3 Cup Quinoa
2 Tbsp Mirin
4 Finely choopped Sage Leaves
Salt & Pepper
Toasted Pumpkin or Large Squash Seeds

1. In heavy saucepan, bring stock to boil and reduce heat to simmer.
2.In saucepan over medium heat, warm oil and saute leek for 2 minutes. Add squash and saute another 3-4 minutes. Add rice & quinoa grains and suate, stirring for 2 minutes until grains are fragrant.
3. Add mirin and sage and cook until dry. Ladle in broth or sotck 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until the liquid has been absorbed before adding each subsequent 1/2 cup. Repeat until grains are tender and creamy 20-25 minutes.
4. Remove from heat. Add salt & pepper to taste. Plate with toasted pumpkin or squash seeds to garnish.

A Dreamy Creamy Risotto

Although I’m not excited at the prospect of the encroaching Ohio winter ahead, I can say that I am excited by the appearance of fall produce at the farmer’s market starting this past weekend. Besides scooping up some of the least fresh tomatoes and peppers of the season, I picked up a beautiful butternut squash to experiment with. Since school started back up for me this week, I initially wanted to make some sort of homemade pasta/ravioli. While browsing through different raviolis that use this bright fall favorite, I came across a recipe for a butternut squash risotto. The bright orange color imparted by the squash and the creamy texture I imagined coming from a nice squash puree had me sold, so I quickly set out to make the risotto. 

Although risotto’s can be irritating, because they demand semi-constant attention for slightly longer than I may prefer to stand at the stove and because they have a reputation for being finicky,  the results are always worth it, and typically serves as a meal in itself. I don't think I've ever tasted a bad risotto, although maybe everyone can mentally hear Gordon Ramsey yelling about risotto. Or maybe that's just me. Anyways,  I started out by cubing and roasting the butternut squash to ensure it had a nice roasted flavor throughout, coated in olive oil, and roasted for about 45 minutes. The recipes I initially came across all made the squash into a puree using cream, but I opted to blend about three fourths or so of the squash with some rich chicken broth instead, and place the remaining rich chunks of squash in whole to give a little bit of texture variation. Butternut squash purees beautifully and achieves a velvety creamy texture that is absolutely delicious. So without further delay, here is the recipe for your risotto pleasure. Enjoy!

 Butternut Squash Risotto; 3-4 Servings

1 2-3 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed

2 tbsp olive oil; divided

Salt & Pepper to taste

1/2 Cup Onion, Diced

1 Cup Arborio Rice

1/2 Cup White Wine

5 Cups Prepared Chicken Broth; should have some left over.

1 Tsp Fresh Sage

Fresh Parmesan Cheese for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 400. Mix cubed squash with 1 tbsp olive oil and place in roasting pan. Salt  & pepper to taste. Place in oven and roast approximately 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook until golden in color and lightly browned in places. Once done, carefully add 3/4 of squash to blender with 1/4 cup of chicken stock. Puree until smooth. Add additional stock if necessary.

2. Place 1 tbsp in large skillet, and sauté onion over medium heat until translucent. Add rice and toast for approximately 1 minute stirring occasionally. Add white wine and simmer until liquid mostly evaporated. Add 1/2 cup broth stirring frequently. When most of the liquid is evaporated and you can move your spoon across the pan without the mixture instantly covering the whole, add your next 1/2 cup broth. Repeat until rice has lost its crunch and mixture is creamy.

3. Once mixture has reached desired consistency, reduce heat, add squash puree, remaining squash, and sage. Stir until heated through. Garnish with parmesan cheese. Serve warm.