First up, gather all those ingredients together:
I love risotto because it's very versatile. You can stick in some frozen peas, leftover red or white wine, chicken and it still comes out delicious. I especially love butternut squash, so this recipe was something I knew I'd like.
The first step is to roast the squash. I know Ina enjoys roasting her vegetables and I tend to agree. Roasting the vegetables really brings out the sweetness and magically makes it taste better Don't ask me how - I think it has to do with caramelized sugars blah blah.
Here's the squash before it goes in the oven. Pay no attention to the rather poor knife skills. They're pretty much all the same size though.
About 40-45 minutes later, here is the roasted squash. I must tell you. I could eat this right out of the pan -- and I have. The squash has a little but of olive oil, salt and pepper on it and it's really delicious. Squash isn't very popular in Hawaii, so I didn't have it until I came to college. All those years, wasted!
Next up, risotto! Now, Ina's recipe calls for pancetta. Gotta confess: I'm not that big on pancetta. I feel like I should like it, but whenever I have it, I miss the smokey flavor of regular old bacon. Not that I'd turn it away, but I use bacon in my cooking instead. Ina also mentions that if you can't find pancetta, bacon is perfectly fine to use, so I feel like I've stuck to the recipe. God, whenever you can add some bacon into a dish is a good day.
Here's the shallots and bacon sauteing in some butter and olive oil. I can't hear you right now arteries.
And throw in the rice, wine and stock.
Confession: I don't stir my risotto constantly. Honestly, I've stood there stirring it for 25 minutes straight and I've stirred it every 7 minutes or so to prevent the rice from sticking. It doesn't seem to make a whole lot of difference in the end product. Since I'm usually making a salad or cleaning up dishes while something is on the stove, I'm happy I don't have to pay it such close attention.
Rachel Ray mentioned a few times on 30 Minute Meals that risotto takes about 22 minutes give or take to cook. She's right. Mine always ends up taking about 25 minutes. Here it is. The saffron has turned it a light yellow, despite my pot and lighting making it look a bit green.
Finish it off the heat with a little bit of cheese and there you go:
The review:
Very good! The squash is lovely and a good texture. It's very soft, but not soft enough so that it falls apart and tastes like babyfood. The saffron adds a nice color to the risotto, but I can't really taste it. The bacon is nice of course. I really don't know if I'd like the dish as much if it had pancetta in it. I think the smokey, salty bacon pairs well with the sweet squash. Joel liked it as well and went back for seconds, a sure sign that he likes it.
Anyway, it's a good start!
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