Cheater's Risotto

I'm a big fan of risotto. Its so adaptable to whatever you want to put in it, and is so creamy, warming, and comforting. However, risotto can be daunting for beginners, what with all of the stirring and having to balance between too much liquid and not enough. And sometimes when I'm in the mood for comfort food I'm also feeling lazy.

Here's my recipe for Cheater's Risotto, which is made in the microwave. Its quicker and easier than traditional risotto, is just as tasty and comforting, and still lends itself to whatever additions you want to include. Here I sauteed some frozen butternut squash cubes I had leftover in the freezer from this recipe, and added it to the cooked risotto.

Cheater's Risotto with Butternut Squash
Serves 3-4

1 cup Arborio rice

3 cups vegetable stock
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small shallot, minced
1 cup cubed butternut squash
Salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese

Put the Arborio rice and vegetable stock in a large microwave-safe bowl (I used a 9-cup Tupperware container). Microwave on high for 18-20 minutes, stirring every 6 minutes or so. When done the rice will have absorbed the liquid and be creamy and tender to the bite.

While the rice is cooking, heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and shallot and cook for a few minutes until fragrant and soft. Make sure the garlic doesn't burn or your dish will taste bitter. Add the butternut squash and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Season with salt and pepper (and whatever else tickles your pickle - peppery fresh basil would be a good addition here).

Add the butternut squash to the cooked rice and give it a stir. Serve topped with grated Parmesan cheese for extra creaminess.

There you have it - tasty risotto in 20 minutes!

Related recipes:
Wheat Berry Salad with Roasted Vegetables
Risotto with Roasted Butternut Squash and Garlic
Butternut Squash with Wilted Spinach and Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
Butternut Squash Risotto with Saffron
Red Beet Risotto
Risotto Cakes

Ooh, gourmet!

That's exactly what Chris said as I set a plate of this risotto and some baked chicken in front of him for dinner tonight. And it was quite good, too. Risotto can seem intimidating, what with all the stirring, but its definitely worth making. And there's something peaceful and zen about adding the stock, stirring, and watching it bubble away. The end result is creamy and warm and comforting.

Risotto with Roasted Butternut Squash and Garlic

1 small butternut squash
6 garlic cloves (less if you prefer)
Olive oil
Salt & pepper

4-6 cups vegetable stock
4 tbsp. butter
1-1/2 c. Arborio rice
1/2 c. dry white wine (or water)
Parmesan cheese

Roast the squash:
Peel the squash, cut the neck off, and cut each half in halves. Scoop the seeds out of the bottom halves. Chop into 1" cubes. Roughly chop garlic. Put squash and garlic on a foil-lined baking sheet (trust me, it really aids in clean-up later) and drizzle with a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Roast in a 375° oven, tossing occasionally, for about 30 minutes, until golden and roast-y.

Make the risotto:
Heat the veggie stock in a sauce pan over low. In a deep skillet melt 2 tbsp. butter over medium heat. When melted, add the Arborio rice and stir. Let the rice toast in the butter until glossy, stirring occasionally, 2-3 minutes. Add the white wine/water and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let the liquid bubble away.

Once the liquid is mostly gone start adding the warm veggie stock. Using a ladle, add about a half cup at a time and stir. Continue to stir every minute or so, and once the liquid is mostly gone, add another ladle-full. Continue in the manner. Start tasting after 20 minutes - like pasta, the rice should be soft on the outside with a slight bite in the center.

Once the rice is done add in the roasted squash and garlic, as well as the other 2 tbsp. butter. Top with grated Parmesan and serve immediately.

* * * * *

I played a gig last night with the Hornet band, for a rather large crowd at a dinner event. Many people danced, which delights me to no end. One old woman wearing a forest green velour pants set had also penciled her eyebrows on in a matching green. Another old woman with a walker did slow, yet charming, spins around the floor, with a flourish at the end and obvious enjoyment. The youth group facilitating the dinner loudly danced to our big band music and drew in attendees to dance with them. It was wonderful fun.

After, a few band mates and I went for coffee and apple pie at a fast food place. The only other patron by that time of night was a truck driver, who chatted in line with us a bit. As we were fixing our coffee side by side the following conversation ensued:

Him: I've been working 29 years, 6 months, and 29 days.
Me: Not that you're counting or anything.
Him: I recently saw my hiring sheet. My date of hire was April 22, 19xx.
Me: Really? That happens to be the same day I was born.
Him: Well then, you are now 29 years, 6 months, and 29 days old.
Me: So I am.

We shared a laugh, and then went out separate ways. What an amusing and coincidental interaction with a complete stranger.

* * * * *

Here are the faces of today's successful trip to the dog park...

Sandy

Food & Fun

Its been a while since I posted about what I've been up to in the kitchen. Saturday I had a concert with the Pleasanton Community Concert Band at the local farmers market. Between sets I wandered around and picked up a big handful of fava beans:


Known in the UK as broadbeans, these puppies are huge! Each bean is as long as or longer than my hand.

Aren't they cute? Kind of like little caterpillars.

Fave beans are more labor intensive than other types of beans, but their buttery, slightly nutty, just a tad bitter taste is worth the effort. Plus the repetitive work of shucking them is relaxing.
The first shucking reveals the woody, cottony inside of the pod within which each bean in nestled.

The beans need to be blanched in very salty boiling water for about a minute, then put in ice water to stop the cooking (no mushy beans). When they are cool enough to handle you peel off the outer shells, leaving you with tender, bright green beans to eat alone or in another dish.

I recently came across this recipe for Red Beet Risotto over at Not Without Salt and have been thinking about it since. I just can't get over the color, so I also picked up these two homely beets and set forth. The recipe was actually quite easy to boot.


When slicing beets keep in mind the the color can stain. My cutting board looked like a massacre had taken place on it, and my hands were red. I washed up right away and had no problems.



I topped the finished risotto with a yogurt-dill sauce I had prepared a day or two prior, quickly sauteed the fava beans with butter and plenty of garlic, and baked a chicken breast with a lemon herb crust for Chris. This was a fresh and very delicious meal.

* * * * *

After all of the work over the weekend we were able to really enjoy our patio last Wednesday, my birthday. We grilled veggie/hot dogs, had baked beans and macaroni salad - its a bit of a tradition for my birthday. It was gorgeous weather and very enjoyable. A few weeks prior I had picked up a dog/kiddie pool at the pet store since the dogs like water and I figured it would be a good way to cool Mac down in the warm weather. We filled it up and Mac had a blast playing in it, trying to get the giant tennis ball out (too big for his mouth), splashing around and making us laugh. Even Ayla put her front feet in the pool and daintily plucked the toys out.

Its gearing up to be a nice summer!

Risotto Cakes and Roasted Onions

I made two Barefoot Bloggers recipes this week. Let's start with the Chive Risotto Cakes, chosen by Deb at Kahakai Kitchen. Here's the ingredients:

The line-up

The chives are from my garden, and I had to go out and grab another handful when I decided to make the whole recipe, not halve it. While the risotto is cooking you whisk together the other ingredients minus the panko flakes. After the risotto is cooked and cooled you incorporate it into the wet mixture. Then you chill it. I put mine together Tuesday evening and finished cooking them Wednesday evening.

Gooey

After the mixture is thoroughly cooled you form patties. I used an ice cream scoop as suggested in the recipe to get the right amount, then flattened the patties in my hands. Here's where I had problems though. The patties weren't staying together very well at all. The first few were okay, but after that they really wanted to fall apart. Maybe I should have put the mixture back in the fridge between batches? Anyway, you coat the patties in panko flakes...

Patties on a bed of panko

... and fry them in oil. Mine took longer than the given three minutes per side to become golden.

In the oil

And here they are after frying:

Golden, like hush puppies

I wasn't terribly impressed by this recipe. The cakes are fine, but to me they just taste fried. I think adding more chives and a stronger cheese might help. I do really like using panko for breading since its makes a very crispy crust. Overall, I don't think I'll be making these again. I still have about half the mixture in the fridge. I think I'll make bite-size patties and freeze them before the frying to have appetizers at the ready for the future. I think they'd benefit from a dipping sauce, but I'm not sure what...

I also made the Herb Roasted Onions, chosen by Kelly from Baking with the Boys. I can forsee using this recipe with other roasted vegetables as well. You whip together a quick dressing of Dijon, garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Then you toss the onions in it and roast them in the oven. The onions are served with leftover dressing poured on top. Holy moly, these were good! We had these along with the risotto cakes:

Dinner's served!

Together they were a tasty meal. But I think I went to my band rehearsal that night smelling of onions and fried food!

Change of Seasons

I was out walking the dogs tonight when I noticed that the leaves are falling from the trees, rustling in shades of orange and brown along the sides of the paths and in the parking lot. The first rain of fall was sprinkling down from the sky and falling cool on my face and hands. The smell of rain permeated the air, wet asphalt and ozone. I wonder if dogs pay attention to the change of seasons?

A new season means a change in foods. There will be less grilling and more roasting. There will be fewer light salads and pastas, and more homey and comforting soups and casseroles. And in this change of seasons, I've joined up with the Barefoot Bloggers, where my first dish is Butternut Squash Risotto.

Butternut Squash Risotto

I made only a few changes to the original recipe: I omitted the pancetta; I used Imagine Organic No-Chicken Broth, and I used saffron powder rather than threads. I also halved the recipe since there's only the two of us to eat it. We still have leftovers, so I'll find out how the risotto reheats. *** Turns out, it reheats quite well! ***

The ingredients

I watched the episode where Ina Garten makes this dish and noticed that she used what appeared to be an ice cream scoop for the seeds in the butternut squash. I gave that a try, and now I think she might have been using a melon baller instead.

Squash ready to be roasted

I love the rich orange color of butternut squash, before and after roasting. (Check out my new blue wavy dish holding the oranges below. Love it!)

Orange and oranges

I love the smell of shallots or onions cooking in butter.

Buttery goodness

After the shallots are translucent (I might have browned them a little) you add the rice and coat the grains with melted butter.

Toasty

The process of making risotto takes time, and is a good reminder to slow down at times and enjoy the process. You slowly add ladles of stock to the toasted Arborio rice as the rice absorbs the liquid, stirring every few minutes. I'm reminded to be conscious of what is happening in the moment, something easily forgotten.

Relaxation in a pot

After about half an hour the risotto is done. You add in the roasted squash and Parmesan and enjoy. This dish turned out very creamy. The saffron lends a lovely yellow color and slight spiciness to the risotto. The roasted butternut squash was tender and sweet. I think I undercooked the risotto a bit, and the smokiness of the pancetta would be very good. Next time I might try some tofu bacon to add a bit more complexity to the risotto. This will definitely be a repeat meal in my house. As you see, I grilled some skirt steak for Chris to have with his, but this dish can certainly stand on its own as a meal.

Yum!