What the heck is with a snow storm in April after experiencing one of (if not) the warmest winters
on record? It's unexpected to have a dinner like risotto be appetizing
this time of year, but Monday’s storm proved there is still time for warm
comfort food. So we had Butternut Squash Risotto from Everyday Food Light last
night.
I had a game plan to buy a bag of
frozen butternut squash (which I bought quite frequently along with sweet
potato a couple years ago at Zehrs in their frozen organics). These were so great for when Owen just started
solids – it was the ultimate easy cheat for mixing purees. Well, the goods gone
and I’m not happy. Frozen vegetables are not something I use often, but I
always have edamame, peas and corn on hand. I have
to go to the US to find more interesting frozen vegetables such as diced roasted red
& poblano peppers. I think they should take half of the frozen foods
department and revise them for healthier and more interesting produce and cut
out some of the seasoned fries, frozen pizzas and over manufactured
entrees. But what do I know about what sells?
I ended up buying the squash from the produce department, like I really should
have all along.
Back to some notes about this dinner. I love risotto when it’s done
right and it’s like tasting a warm snuggle. Unfortunately this dinner didn't reach those heights. The thing that I don’t like about this
recipe is the lack of richness and depth of flavour. I'm not one to add mounds of butter to my risotto, but even with a 1/3 cup of parmesan cheese
the flavour never really came through. Lots of salt and sage made this tasty,
but not anything we’d ever have again. This was the first time Owen’s rejected
risotto, so I’m thinking we’ll stick to our favourite flavour combos of peas
and prosciutto and mushroom. I think this might be a great option if you’re a
fan of butternut squash, but I have to admit is one of my least favourite vegetables anyway.
Risotto takes a little while to make, there isn't much we can do about that (although I have soaked the rice in an attempt to speed up the cooking process - and I'm pretty sure it worked). But I’ve
come up with a tip that simplifies things and really helps with clean-up. Every risotto recipe I’ve
cooked from asks for stock to be heated in a saucepan and ladle into the cooking
rice. I used to do it that way and made a mess of the stove top. Now I
microwave the stock in my largest measuring cup and zap it every 5 or so
minutes to keep the temperature up. It works like a charm!
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