Delicata Risotto

Happy First Day of Fall! I've been watching the progression of this tree down the street and finally remembered to take a picture. Figured it was pretty appropriate to post today, too. I'm really torn... fall is my favorite season, but I feel like I've got a death grip on summer and don't want that to end, either! Picking up as many plums as I can, and setting them amidst squashes and apples, hopefully I won't develop a split personality. Can't we all just get along?

Delicata Squash

Anywho, I really have to share this dish I made the other night for dinner, it was so good. Definately topped my last variation with eggplant and tomatoes. I used this recipe from The Domestic Goddess as inspiration, but I've become more comfortable with this dish as I've made it a handfull of times now, so I'll include my version below. I'd never tried delicata squash before, but when the woman at the farmers market described it as a cross between acorn squash and sweet potato I knew I had to try it! I'll be honest though, it tastes more like squash than a sweet potato... not complaining though I love both!!

Delicata Risotto

Delicata Risotto
Serves 4


~3/4T EVOO
1/2 medium onion, diced
1c Arborio rice
~1/4c white wine
2-3c stock (I think I ended up using ~2 1/2c chicken stock, but that's just what we had in the fridge)
1T chopped chives
1T chopped parsley (some fresh chopped sage or thyme would also be good I think if that's what you have!)
1-2T finely grated Parmesan
1/2 delicata squash, cut into 1/2" cubes (any other squash or sweet potato would work)
~2oz ricotta salata or goat cheese

Ahead of time: I roasted the squash at 425 for ~25min, until tender and slightly browned on the edges the other day. Just popped it into the fridge for easy access/quick dinners.

Place stock in saucepan over med-low heat. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until softened and just beginning to brown. Add rice and stir to coat rice. Usually recipes say to cook until rice is translucent, this time I let it go a little longer (stepped out of the kitchen to do something else...) and I think it only added to the flavor of the final dish.

Add white wine (I didn't measure, just poured a bit around the pan), stir the rice, this cooks off pretty quickly. Add stock, ~1/2c or so at a time (a little more/less won't hurt it), stirring after each addition and then letting it absorb the liquid. i think it was around 2 1/2c that I noticed it was taking longer to absorb, and it looked quite thick, so at this point I added the chives, parsley, Parm, and roasted squash and stirred to combine. I let this cook a minute or two to make sure the squash warmed up (I let it sit out while making the entire dish to take the chill off the refrigerated chunks). Transfer to serving dish, top with ricotta salat, and serve!


Served up with some grilled chicken kebabs-- a winner of a dinner ;-) Grilled onions are da bomb, I could eat a whole onion or two that way... would that be bad? Hmm... Oh, the chicken I pulled out of the freezer was already cut into kebab-sized chunks and marinated in Speedie's (I have no idea what this is... :-P), so mom just cut up a vidalia, pepper, and white eggplant to join the chicken and button mushrooms on skewers. I'd never tried a white eggplant before, they sure are gorgeous!! And sweeter than the gigundo eggplants I've eaten. Need to try one of the skinny kind... japanese I believe, I wonder how they compare. Did you know eggplants are "aubergines" in french? A much sexier word, maybe we should ban the name eggplant, who's with me??

Until my next trick, thank you all for reading and commenting, I smile every time I see a new comment and this has been a fun experience! Happy Monday :)