More than once I’ve had teammates and friends quiz me on how risotto is made. The comments generally run from. ” Seems like its complicated.”, “Doesn’t it take a long time to make?” To ” What kind of rice do you use?” In response I would say no, no and arborio.
Marcella Hazan, the wonderful Italian cook and cook book author describes risotto as a uniquely Italian technique for cooking rice. In her book The Classic Italian Cookbook she writes “Risotto can be made with almost any ingredient added to the rice… The variations are inexhaustible.”
There are umpteen jillion recipes for risotto out there in print and on the web. They pretty much have one thing in common, Arborio rice. There are several variations on this rice but don’t be put off by packages that read Super Fino, Carnaroli, Vialone Nano. They all can be used to make this wonderfully creamy, luscious dish. And it takes no more than 20 minutes from start to finish. Basic ingredients include the rice, a small amount of diced onion, several tablespoons of good quality olive oil, about 11/2 quarts stock and/or water (both boiling or near so) and a generous blizzard of first rate grating cheese like parmesan or pecorino.
What we’re going to show you here is one version. Its moving into winter here and so we’re going to use a terrific seasonal ingredient, Butternut Squash. One squash of about 3 lbs in weight will give you enough squash for two meals, easy. Here we cut off the ends, peel it with a vegetable peeler, scoop out the seeds and pulp then dice or cut into 1/4 inch pieces. They could be cut larger but you want them to a comfortable bite-size and in proportion to the other indredients in the dish.
Ends Trimmed and Halved
At this point since you have enough squash for several meals you could go ahead and cook it all then either freeze or refrigerate what you don’t use first time round. You can blanch the squash a couple of ways, Here we chose to roast the squash in the oven. You can also braise it. See the techniques page for how to do it. Season the squsah with a sprinkling of kosher salt, a thin sliced clove of garlic (it could be grated or minced, doesn’t matter) and 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika. This is an ingredient you should have around and if you don’t, get some. Its super stuff for adding depth to sauces, vinaigrettes, marinades, you name it.
Roasting Squash with Garlic and Smoked Paprika
Next we take the diced onion and saute or sweat it in the olive oil over a slow flame for about 5 minutes until the onion is soft. Don’t brown it whatever you do. Doesn’t look good, doesn’t taste good in this dish.
Now we add the hot liquid. Increase the flame as you do this, something close to a medium flame should work. Just don’t crank it. You can use chicken stock (home made is the best) or water. Of course a bit of stock even if its only half the total liquid will give you lots more flavor. Not to mention the vitamins and minerals in the home made version.
Liquids get added in several stages. Add roughly 1 1/2 cup of hot liquid at a time, stirring often. Don’t let it stick to the bottom of the pan. A little elbow grease and attention here are all you need. But don’t hover and stir constantly. There’s no need to.
Its getting creamy now and at this point its about 15 minutes till being done. The judge is the bite of the rice. Its similar to pasta in how you call it. When you add the last of the liquiid add the cooked squash ( or what ever else you might be adding like roasted mushrooms, cooked and pulled chicken). Stir to mix and let it go until the rice is ready. Now you’re good to go. Even if the rest of the meal isn’t all there yet you have a good 5-8 minutes to pull it together. Just throw a lid on it and pull it off the flame.
Now with everything done its plate up time. Here is the full recipe along with the nutritionals. Remember that recipes are only guidelines. And don’t be afraid to play with your food.
Butternut Squash Risotto (enough for 3 servings or 2 with leftovers)
1 cup Arborio Rice
½ cup yellow onion, diced small
2 cups roasted butternut squash (or other hard squash or vegetable of choice)
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 quart chicken broth (hot or simmering)
2 cups water (you can use all water or all chicken broth but I like the mix. Its plenty flavorful and lets the other ingredients shine through) (hot or simmering)
¼ teaspoon kosher salt (you can use sea salt)
4 Tablespoons grated parmesan or pecorino
Heat oil in heavy bottom sauce pan or pot.
Add onion and cook slowly for about 5-8 minutes or until soft. Do not brown.
Add rice and stir to mix well.
Add stock in 1 ½ cup at a time stirring as you add. Make sure the mixture is at a good simmer as you go. The rice will absorb liquid as it cooks. The mixture will soon become creamy in texture which is a good thing.
Continue to add the stock then the water stirring often.
Add the cooked squash or vegetable and stir to mix. Cook for at least another 5 minutes. (The whole thing should take around 15 minutes. Check the grains of rice for doneness by judging if they have a gentle firmness inside as you bite.
When done you can serve immediately or cover and set aside for up to 5 minutes.
Here are the nutrtionals for the dish.
Nutrition Facts Serving Size (645g) Servings Per Container
Amount Per Serving Calories 530 Calories from Fat 150 % Daily Value Total Fat 17 g 26 % Saturated Fat 3.5 g 18 % Trans Fat 0 g Cholesterol 15 mg 5 % Sodium 790 mg 33 % Total Carbohydrate 79 g 26 % Dietary Fiber 7 g 28 % Sugars 9 g Protein 19 g
Vitamin A 310 % Vitamin C 40 % Calcium 20 % Iron 10 %
the well seasoned athlete 