Best Baked Risotto With Winter Squash Recipes

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 PANCETTA & BUTTERNUT SQUASH RISOTTO

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• In an ovenproof skillet with a tight-fitting lid, add the pancetta and cook over medium heat until browned and crispy, about 8 minutes. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
• To the pancetta drippings, add the butter and melt. Add the garlic and onion and cook until just translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the sage and thyme, then stir in the rice and cook, stirring, until the rice is well coated in the butter and pancetta drippings. Add the squash, broth and wine, then sprinkle with salt and pepper and stir. Bring to a simmer, cover with the lid and place in the oven. Bake until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, 45 to 60 minutes.
• Carefully remove from the oven. Add the Parmesan, parsley and lemon juice, then stir until creamy. Sprinkle with the crispy pancetta and some more grated Parmesan and chopped parsley.

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH RISOTTO

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, toss the squash with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and roast until golden and caramelized at the edges, stirring at least once, 40 to 55 minutes. Let cool.
• Bring the vegetable stock to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce the heat and maintain at a bare simmer.
• Heat the remaining 4 tablespoons oil in a large, high-sided, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic; cook just until it releases its fragrance, about 30 seconds, then add the rice and stir to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stir in the wine and cook until almost completely evaporated. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add a ladleful of stock; cook, stirring constantly, until almost completely absorbed. Add another ladleful; again, cook, stirring, until almost fully absorbed. Continue in this manner until the rice is creamy and al dente (tender but still firm to the bite), about 40 minutes--you may or may not use all the stock.
• Remove the risotto from the heat and stir in the Parmesan if using and the squash, reserving some cubes for garnish. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately, garnished with the reserved squash cubes.

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.