I’m making all meatless meals this week. No, it’s not in anticipation of Lent. Rather, we are atoning. Last weekend, we took the kids to one of those Brazilian steakhouses where men dressed as gauchos circle the room and slice hunks of meat off pitchforks for gluttonous guests. And that’s after you have loaded up on vegetables, cheese and cold cuts at the enormous salad bar. While all-you-can-eat red meat may not be my first choice for a meal, it is Zuzu’s idea of heaven and we were there to celebrate her recent triumphs in the swimming pool and at the piano. So after Sunday night at the churrascaria, it’s a week of vegetable-centric dishes for this family.
I kicked off Vegetable Week with butternut squash risotto. I make risotto every so often when I’m in the mood for an alternative to pasta. People think that risotto is fussy and time-consuming, but I have a different take on it. Yes, once you start cooking the risotto, you are pretty much tethered to the stove for twenty-five to thirty minutes. But, you can really make risotto, start to finish, in about an hour and it’s a one-dish meal. It is not unreasonable to devote an hour to making dinner. And, there is something so wonderful about not being able to leave the stove. It means you can’t help with incomprehensible math homework, referee a sibling cage match, or bathe a filthy child. Sorry! Get someone else to help you, kids. I’m stirring the risotto.
Begin by roasting the squash to bring out its flavor.
People also think that risotto is hard to get right. Add too little liquid and it’s gummy; add too much liquid and it’s soup. There are even rumors of a “risotto curse” on “Top Chef.” (Go ahead, Google it.) I mean, if trained chefs can’t get risotto right, what hope do we mortals have? Am I right?
But the thing is, you’re not making risotto for Mario Batali; you’re making risotto for your family. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Your spouse is not going to tell you to pack your knives and go if your risotto is a little soupy or a little gummy. My guess is, he or she will eat it anyway and if the flavor is good, no one will care that care much.
So, stop being afraid of risotto and embrace it for what it is: a one-dish meal that you can cook with mostly pantry ingredients in just under an hour. That doesn’t sound fussy or time-consuming now does it? I say “mostly pantry ingredients” and I mean it. But you do have to buy one special ingredient, namely risotto rice. Regular rice will not develop that creamy texture that characterizes risotto. Luckily, this is not a hard assignment. You can find Arborio rice, the Italian short-grain rice that is standard for making risotto, in any good supermarket. If you want to be a little more ambitious, look for Carnaroli rice. Known as the “king of rice,” Carnaroli is a starchier, medium grain rice from northern Italy that holds its shape exceptionally well during long cooking.
All you need to make risotto a perfect one-dish meal is one signature ingredient to flavor the dish, be it wild mushrooms, asparagus, or, in this case, butternut squash. This is my favorite fall and winter risotto. I love how the soft, slightly stringy pieces of squash contrast with the creamy rice, although my husband prefers it when the squash kind of melts into the rice, which also happens. The squash brings a festive orange color and an earthy sweetness to the otherwise plain rice. I pump up the flavor of the risotto by adding ingredients that I know pair well with squash, like ginger and sage. A sprinkling of toasted walnuts on top for crunch and the result is warmth and comfort on a plate — with just enough bite to take it out of the realm of nursery food.
- 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 TB olive oil
- 1 tsp. dried sage
- 5 cups chicken or vegetable broth*
- 2 TB butter
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- Pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 cup Arborio or Carnaroli rice
- 1 cup white wine
- 5-6 fresh sage leaves, sliced thinly
- ½ cup Parmesan, grated
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts, lightly toasted in a dry skillet
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Preheat oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with foil or a Silpat baking mat.
- Toss the cubed butternut squash with the olive oil, dried sage and salt and pepper. Place the cubes in a single layer on the baking sheet.
- Roast the squash for 20 minutes until tender. Remove and set aside.
- Heat the chicken or vegetable broth in a medium saucepan just to a simmer and keep warm.
- Melt the butter over medium heat in a large, wide sauce pan or Dutch oven.
- Saute the onion in the butter until translucent, about five minutes and season well with salt and pepper.
- Add the garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes, if using, and saute a few additional minutes until fragrant.
- Add rice to pan and toss to coat with the butter. Saute until slightly toasty, about two minutes.
- Add white wine to the pan and stir to combine. Keep stirring until most of the wine is absorbed.
- Add 1 cup warm broth to the pan and stir. Keep stirring until most of the broth is absorbed.
- As the broth in the pan is absorbed by the rice, continue adding broth, a half cup at a time, stirring constantly. At first, the broth will be absorbed quickly, but as the rice becomes more saturated, it will absorb the broth slower and you will stir for longer before needing to add more.
- Keep the rice at a gentle simmer, adjusting the heat as necessary.
- About fifteen minutes after you added the first cup of broth, add the squash and toss to combine.
- Continue adding broth, stirring and waiting until the broth is absorbed before adding more, until the rice is tender and cooked through. It will take about 25-30 minutes total.
- When rice is done, add sage and grated Parmesan and stir to combine.
- Taste the rice and adjust the seasoning.
- Serve warm garnished with toasted walnuts.
