I enjoy risotto. I've eaten it in restaurants, made it in the microwave from a box, but never before had I made it at home from scratch. Once again I was digging through the The Gluten-Free Bible and came across a recipe for Asparagus Parmesan Risotto and I knew I needed to try it out.
As I cooked, I had Tom Colicchio's final advice to Tre Wilcox in Top Chef: All-Stars ringing in my ears. "When you put a risotto on the plate, it needs to spread."
Well, my risotto may not have spread enough for Tom, but it did spread and it was quite tasty. I've included the risotto recipes at the end of this post if you decide you'd like to try them out. Risotto isn't a quick dish to make, but if you have the time and the desire it's definitely worth it!
While this dish was very good, and became my lunch for the next week at school, it wasn't until I used the risotto recipe in conjunction with a Bon Appetit recipe for Farro with Acorn Squash and Kale that I fell into complete Risotto Love. Never have I eaten a dish day after day and actually thought it was even better than the day before. Tomorrow will be my last of the six servings and I am mourning it's loss already.
What is especially delicious about using kale is that it always remains slightly more tough than spinach would, and gives a crunchy texture to a dish that is otherwise creamy. The acorn squash is roasted in the oven so it has it's own crunchy/creamy combination that's a fabulous compliment.
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Kale & Acorn Squash Risotto
Pre-heat the oven to 375.
Squash:
Halve, peel and seed an acorn squash into small cubes. ( I found it very hard to peel with a peeler, so I used my sharpest knife to cut close to the skin and clean it that way.)
Melt a tbs. of unsalted butter in a saucepan (I used my wok) and add the squash, sprinkle with salt and pepper to coat. Then, roast the squash in the oven for 35 minutes, turning (or at least mixing up) the squash every ten minutes or so.
Kale:
1/2 bunch of kale, removed from stem and cut into smaller strips.
Cook the kale in a large pot of boiling water (the recipe said salted water...mine wasn't) for about 2 minutes or until wilted. Remove kale to a bowl of ice water to cool, and then drain and dry.
Risotto: (I'll try to include either recipe mix here. one was with the squash and kale. the other--peas and asparagus)
1.) Melt 3 tbs. unsalted butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add a small chopped onion and stir until tender about 2-3 minutes. (I used the white parts of a leek instead in the asparagus one, and a red onion for the squash one)
Stir in 2 cups of uncooked arborio rice, and cook for another 2 minutes until rice is covered completely.
Add 2/3 cup of wine, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is absorbed. ( I used tomato wine from Pioneer Valley Vineyard)
2.) Heat 5 1/2 cups vegetable broth to a simmer over medium high heat, then reduce the heat to low. ( I used 3 vegetable bouillon cubes)
3.) Add 1 1/2 cups hot broth to rice mixture, cook and stir 7 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. (simmer, don't boil)
Add 2 more cups broth and vegetable (kale or chopped asparagus depending which version you're making) Simmer and stir another 7 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.
Add remaining 2 cups broth and cook 5-6 minutes stirring until most of the liquid is absorbed. (In one recipe, here is also where you would add 2/3 cup frozen peas)
4.) Remove from heat; stir in another Tbsp. of unsalted butter and 1 Cup grated Parmesan cheese until melted. (Here is also where I mixed in the roasted acorn squash)
5.) Garnish with Parmesan, serve (hope it spreads!) and ENJOY :)
Mine made 6 servings. Each serving of the Asparagus Risotto was 14 points plus* and each serving of the Kale Risotto was 12 pp.
** side note on that** Weight loss to date is 37 lbs!
Well, my risotto may not have spread enough for Tom, but it did spread and it was quite tasty. I've included the risotto recipes at the end of this post if you decide you'd like to try them out. Risotto isn't a quick dish to make, but if you have the time and the desire it's definitely worth it!
While this dish was very good, and became my lunch for the next week at school, it wasn't until I used the risotto recipe in conjunction with a Bon Appetit recipe for Farro with Acorn Squash and Kale that I fell into complete Risotto Love. Never have I eaten a dish day after day and actually thought it was even better than the day before. Tomorrow will be my last of the six servings and I am mourning it's loss already.
 |
| Acorn Squash and Kale Risotto |
I couldn't make the farro dish as it's a grain in the wheat family, and so I wasn't quite sure how to adapt the recipe as it had a lot of steps and oven roasting and so forth. I ended up putting both recipes side by side and combining forces to make the dish from arborio rice instead. Kurt called it my "faux-farro" dish :).
What is especially delicious about using kale is that it always remains slightly more tough than spinach would, and gives a crunchy texture to a dish that is otherwise creamy. The acorn squash is roasted in the oven so it has it's own crunchy/creamy combination that's a fabulous compliment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kale & Acorn Squash Risotto
Pre-heat the oven to 375.
Squash:
Halve, peel and seed an acorn squash into small cubes. ( I found it very hard to peel with a peeler, so I used my sharpest knife to cut close to the skin and clean it that way.)
Melt a tbs. of unsalted butter in a saucepan (I used my wok) and add the squash, sprinkle with salt and pepper to coat. Then, roast the squash in the oven for 35 minutes, turning (or at least mixing up) the squash every ten minutes or so.
Kale:
1/2 bunch of kale, removed from stem and cut into smaller strips.
Cook the kale in a large pot of boiling water (the recipe said salted water...mine wasn't) for about 2 minutes or until wilted. Remove kale to a bowl of ice water to cool, and then drain and dry.
Risotto: (I'll try to include either recipe mix here. one was with the squash and kale. the other--peas and asparagus)
1.) Melt 3 tbs. unsalted butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add a small chopped onion and stir until tender about 2-3 minutes. (I used the white parts of a leek instead in the asparagus one, and a red onion for the squash one)
Stir in 2 cups of uncooked arborio rice, and cook for another 2 minutes until rice is covered completely.
Add 2/3 cup of wine, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is absorbed. ( I used tomato wine from Pioneer Valley Vineyard)
2.) Heat 5 1/2 cups vegetable broth to a simmer over medium high heat, then reduce the heat to low. ( I used 3 vegetable bouillon cubes)
3.) Add 1 1/2 cups hot broth to rice mixture, cook and stir 7 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. (simmer, don't boil)
Add 2 more cups broth and vegetable (kale or chopped asparagus depending which version you're making) Simmer and stir another 7 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.
Add remaining 2 cups broth and cook 5-6 minutes stirring until most of the liquid is absorbed. (In one recipe, here is also where you would add 2/3 cup frozen peas)
4.) Remove from heat; stir in another Tbsp. of unsalted butter and 1 Cup grated Parmesan cheese until melted. (Here is also where I mixed in the roasted acorn squash)
5.) Garnish with Parmesan, serve (hope it spreads!) and ENJOY :)
Mine made 6 servings. Each serving of the Asparagus Risotto was 14 points plus* and each serving of the Kale Risotto was 12 pp.
** side note on that** Weight loss to date is 37 lbs!
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