Thursday, October 18, 2012

Butternut Squash and Apple Risotto


The butter had been melted.  The shallot had been added, and was wonderfully soft.  The rosemary and sage gave off their woodsy scents.  Garlic was emitting its pungent fragrance.  It was time to add the rice.  So I measured out the rice and stirred it into the onion and butter mixture, letting the rice get all toasty in a quick herbal butter bath before adding the white wine.

Then I noticed something strange.  I had poured in long-grain brown rice?  How did this even get into the cupboard, let alone get into my pan?  I must have purchased it up by mistake.  Do not make the same mistake I did.  I gave it a chance, trying to cook it for a bit, praying that somehow a risotto would force its way out of this mixture.  A risotto did not emerge.  I guess it could have, if I had given it about a year to cook.  So yeah, do not mistakenly grab long-grain brown rice at the grocery store than grab it from your cupboard to make risotto.

I had to restart the whole thing, of course.

Ingredients 
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large shallot, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 sprig rosemary, needles removed and chopped
1 tablespoon chopped sage leaves, plus more for garnish
1 1/2 cups Arborio or medium-grain rice
smoked sea salt, to taste
ground white pepper, to taste
1/2 cup dry white wine
6 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups butternut squash puree
2 Granny Smith apples, cored
1/2 cup toasted pinenuts, for garnish

Note: I roasted a whole butternut squash in a 425 degree oven for about 90 minutes to 2 hours, then scooped out the seeds and stringy parts and ran the flesh through a food processor.
To toast the pinenuts, I place in a dry skillet over medium high heat and toss until they have developed a golden brown color (about 4 minutes).  

Instructions 
In a medium pot over medium heat, keep the chicken broth warm.  Melt butter in a large saute pan.  Add the shallot, rosemary, and sage.  Once the onion has softened (about 4 minutes), add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, til fragrant.  Add the rice.  Stir the rice and let the butter coat the rice.  Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper.  Pour in the white wine and stir the rice.  Once the rice has absorbed the wine, add in a ladleful (about 2/3 cup) of chicken stock.  Stir and let the rice absorb the stock.  Once it has absorbed it, add the next ladleful, and keep repeating.  Be sure to stir frequently.  Once the rice has cooked, stir in butternut squash puree.  Grate the apples into the risotto and stir.  Top with toasted pinenuts.

19 comments:

  1. Lol! Sneaky fellow, that long grain rice. :D
    This looks perfect. I wish I had a bowl for my dinner right now!

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  2. Looks delicious! I'll take a dish of that for dinner right now.

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  3. Oh no! Poor brown rice.

    The first time I ever made risotto it was butternut squash risotto, and it was possibly the best thing I ever tasted. But I'll have to see if the apples make it even better! XD

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  4. LOVE risotto! Sorry about your brown rice mishap :)

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  5. Heheh, things happen especially when you are so ready to make and enjoy it!! :) But I could imagine how wonderful this risotto would be. Apple and butternut squash? YUM!

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  6. Yum, I never thought of having butternut & apple together..would need to try this soon! I have not experimented any pumpkin or butternut recipe this year...and Halloween comes dangerously close!

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  7. Besides the mishap my friend this is one incredible recipe :)

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

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  8. A year to cook? Hehe! Things like this happen so often in our kitchen. I love the combination of apples and butternut squash.

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  9. I love the apples here! What a perfect risotto.

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  10. LOL, yeah, how did that get into the cupboard?? :) I love butternut squash risotto but I've never tried adding apples. Interesting.

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  11. This does sound like a wonderful combination, so sorry about the brown rice, I love the stuff myself but it does need quite a while to cook. Did you to re-make the dish, it looks delicious in the photo.

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  12. Oh no! At least you ended up with this fabulous dish though -- it looks wonderful!

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  13. I hate when that happens...but the end result looks so very good. Butternut squash and apple risotto sounds just heavenly. Thank you for sharing. What a delicious end to my week! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

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  14. Regardless of what rice you took, the risotto got a nice texture. How long did it take to cook that?

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  15. Oh no! At least you could have had it like porridge. :P The risotto looks so good though, would love a huge bowl of this right now!

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  16. Lol, so frustrating! I actually make 'risotto' with short grain brown rice but you definitely have to par-cook it to even give it a chance of success. Great mix of butternut of apples for a perfect fall twist.

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  17. Oh no, you poor thing. I've made that mistake before. Whoops! This risotto looks and sounds divine. I love that you added apples.

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