Squash Seed Risotto - Page 57

It's been a while since we cooked, mainly because of me spending my summers North in Vermont.  Also because the remaining recipes are getting a bit complicated and the ingredients a bit more fun.  Kari and I are going to Denver for a week and when we get back, Ox and I are going to do a bit of preparation for the future, rather than deciding on a recipe the day we plan on cooking it.

The good thing about going North, however, is that we get to bring back some Hill Farmstead Arthur - a great Farmhouse Saison, with a perfect tartness to compliment the risotto and the Roasted Scallops we made to accompany them.

Coordinating these recipes required a bit of graph paper, a series of timelines, and some mental gyrations - most of which failed.  The result was awesome, but our timing did not go as planned.

The Farro Risotto we made from Heritage was amazing, so we had high hopes for this recipe, though the idea of using rice grits seemed a bit strange - In Brock We Trust.  The squash seed addition at the end was also unexpected, but kinda made sense texturally.  We couldn't figure out why we were rubbing the squash with oil and salt, since you wouldn't be using the peels - turned out you DO use the outsides, and this means you need to salt them liberally.  The sofrito step of heating thinly sliced garlic and shallots in butter and oil until they practically dissolve is going to become a staple technique in our kitchen.

This came together as a classic risotto, with stock additions and stirring, though it is quite a bit thicker, so you couldn't stop stirring or you would get a risottoplosion.  My microwave can attest to this, as it is covered in risotto splashes.  We played around with this and made a few discoveries.  Discussed in the advice.  One was that if you don't salt the squash generously enough, you will have an under-salted risotto, but this was an easy fix.

Advice:  Season the squash liberally.  If you don't have classic rice grits, you can briefly pulse good rice in a food processor to break it up a bit - go for the consistency of steel cut oats, and sift most of the dust away.  Start the risotto off on Medium Low and raise or lower as necessary to avoid risottoplosion.  Don't be afraid to use the skins and seeds of the squash - they are what makes the dish.  You can add salt to taste at the end if there's not enough.

On a separate note, we made it to McCrady's Tavern this Saturday and they hit it out of the park!  The new design is beautiful and works great.  The menu is delicious and accessible, and the beer list well thought out.  Thanks to the chef for sending out the OXtail and BROCKolli - it was delicious!