Risotto is known for being rich and creamy with deep, unctuous flavors. How do you achieve such a phenomena in under 15 minutes? Simply harness your inner Risotto Whisperer and get to work. This risotto features the all-star of all squash, delicata squash. The skin is totally edible and the center is sweet. The squash sears in rosemary infused oil and the rice cooks in a bath of squash infused stock. With these infusions, you can achieve that intense level of flavor you expect in a risotto. The entire dish is garnished with crispy, fried rosemary. Risotto in under 15 minutes, you can do it!
Satisfy your sweet tooth with this easy-to-make recipe for Delicata Squash Risotto.
1. Info for Delicata Squash Risotto
- Cook Time: 15 min
- Total Time: 15 min
- Servings: 4
- Calories: 565.22 kcal
2. Ingredients for Delicata Squash Risotto
- 4 cups stock (any type, we used veggie)
- 1 delicata squash
- 1/2 onion (red or white)
- 2 cups quick cooking brown rice
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 4 sprigs rosemary
- 1 pinch aleppo chili
- Parmesan (a rind, about a 3” x 3” chunk, and about 1/2 cup grated)
- olive oil
- salt
3. Directions:
- Grab two large pans (one for risotto and one for rosemary and squash) and one medium pot (for stock) and put them all over medium-high heat.
- In the medium pot, add your stock. Grab your delicata squash and trim the ends. Cut the squash in half, longways and scrape out the guts. Add the guts to the stock to infuse flavor.
- Dice up your onion. Drizzle one of the large pans with olive oil and toss in the onions. Sweat the onions (removing moisture but not caramelizing). Add your rice to the onions. Toast the rice in the oil, coating the rice kernels, and cook for about 1 minute. Then add white wine and stir, it will absorb quickly.
- In your remaining pan, drizzle with olive oil. Remove rosemary from stems. Once the oil is hot, tip the pan, allowing the oil to pool. Now toss in the rosemary, you should hear a pop! Let it sizzle while you check the risotto.
- Grab a ladle and a spider. We’re going to add a few ladles full of stock to the risotto pan, catching the squash guts in the spider as we go. Add just enough to cover the rice.
- Grab one of your squash halves and trim into half moons (save the other squash half for another use). Remove the rosemary from the oil, leaving the rosemary infused oil in the pan. Add the squash to the pan, frying it up in the rosemary oil. Season the squash with a pinch of salt and a sprinkling of aleppo chili, and toss to combine. Give the rosemary a quick rough chop and set aside for garnish.
- Ladle a bit more stock into the risotto (through the spider to catch the guts). Toss your parm rind into the risotto. Remove your risotto from heat. Add butter and half of the grated parm. You can now remove the rind, it only needs to be in there for a short time. Season with salt and toss.
- Grab a large plate. Add your risotto to cover the plate. Top with the squash. Finally, garnish with fried rosemary, the remaining grated parm, and a drizzle olive oil. Risotto in under 15 minutes, what?!
- Hot Tip: Squash seeds – Save your squash seeds and dry them out in the oven for a snack, salad topper, soup garnish, whatever