Ingredients
- yields 4
- vegetable or chicken stock 8 cups
- winter squash 2 lbs
- unsalted butter 2 tbs
- dried chile flakes 1/2 tsp
- carnaroli or arborio rice 2 cups
- leeks, trimmed, split lengthwise into quarters, cleaned, thinly sliced 1 lbs
- white wine, dry 1 cups
- Parmigiano-Reggiano 2 cups
- flat-leaf parsley, chopped 1/4 cup
- sage, chopped 1 tbs
Preparation
Stock - Put stock in a soup pot. Peel the squash (vegetable peeler or sharp pairing knife or get a pre-peeled squash which is so much nicer but maybe a bit worse). Scoop out the seeds and fibers and add to the stock. Grate about 2 cups of the flesh using the large holes of the box grater and set aside. Roughly chop the rest of the squash into ~1inch cubes and put it into the soup pot. Let the stock simmer slowly for at least 30 minutes so it takes on the squash flavor.
Flavor - Melt butter in a small glug of olive oil in a large skillet or dutch oven - this will eventually contain the entire risotto. Add half of the grated squash, the chile flakes, and 1 teaspoon salt and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring frequently, so that the rice becomes glossy and slightly darker golden, for about 5 minutes. Add the leeks and 1 teaspoon salt and cook over medium low heat until they are soft, another 10 minutes or so
Ladling Increase the heat to medium-high and add the wine, stirring and scraping to deglaze the pan. Simmer until all the wine has evaporated. Start ladling in enough of the stock (while leaving the solids in the stock pot) so that it just barely covers the rice. Adjust the heat so it is bubbling gently, stirring occasionally and ensuring the bottom of the pan doesn't burn. When most of the liquid has reduced, add more stock, repeating the process until the rice is getting tender but still has a chalky center when you bite into a grain, about 10 minutes.
Finish it Add the remaining grated squash, a bit more stock, and cook just until the squash is tender. The risotto should be quite moist, stiffening as the cheese is added. Add the cheese, folding in 3/2 cups of Parmigiano, parsley, sage, and serve right away
Side Quest: Arancini
Spend another ~45 min and make it into arancini! See recipe here