Fuel Friday #5: Trifecta Risotto

Lets celebrate! Miss KoryBeth got her Trifecta this year, and that requires an amazing meal worthy of such an accomplishment.

First we take the oh so lovely and subtle combination of sugar pumpkin, butternut, and acorn (in this case carnival, a type of acorn squash named for it’s oh so fun coloring). You can use any three winter squash varieties of your choosing, but these are the three I had in my house.

Why risotto? Good question, It’s a beautiful, rich, delicious, seasonal, inexpensive, and most of all, healthy option when you’re craving a warm, stick to your ribs comfort food in the cold, windy nights of fall… and my favorite mac and cheese alternative!

The art of risotto is all about patience and good ingredients. Don’t skimp on the quality of the parmesan cheese. Parmesan is the classic Italian cheese good on virtually anything. Thing is, the cheap parmesan you buy you may think you’re getting a deal, but what it lacks in price it also lacks in flavor. By picking an imported Italian cheese, you can use less then a quarter of the cheese and get the same, if not a better impact then the cheaper counterpart. Now, that being said, the American parmesan does work too (and what I usually use because Italian parmesan is hard to come by in western Massachusetts).

The way you round this dish out is some fresh sage and leeks. In a pinch, dried sage and shallots will do in a pinch. A lack of shallots too… find yourself some onions!  Feeling ambitious? Use all three! This is a trifecta risotto, why not make it a double!

Please enjoy, this is my favorite fall treat!

Fall Trifecta Risotto

• ½ medium pie pumpkin, skinned and cubed *
• ½ medium butternut squash, skinned and cubed *
• ½-1 acorn squash, skinned and cubed *
• 1 large leek, chopped
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 TBSP garlic (more if you’re a strong Italian like me , I used around 6)
• 1 cup Arborio Rice (2 if you want to make a very large amount)
• ½ - 1 cup white wine
• 6 cups Stock (chicken or veggie) (multiply by how many cups of rice you’d use)
• Parmesan Cheese to Taste (~1/4 cup)
• Sage Leaves to Taste
• Basil Leaves to Taste
• Salt and Pepper to Taste

* you may have to microwave/steam the large chunk of squash to loosen the flesh from the skin before cutting off the skin.

Directions

1. Add the squashes, leeks, onions, shallots, and garlic to the pan, sweat them until they begin to soften. 
2. Add rice to pan, sauté until “toasted”  (but not until it becomes colored).
3. Add white wine, stir until reduced.
4. Add stock in ½ cup increments stirring constantly.
5. Once ½ the stock is gone, increments can increase to 1 cup increments until all liquid is absorbed and rice is cooked. If you find you run out of stock, you can use water. 
6. Once rice is cooked (no bright white is left in the rice), add parmesan and herbs to taste.

Enjoy!