Butternut Squash Risotto

Who knew that babies have the cutest little fingernails! Congratulations to Ethan and Kate. I'm now an aunt to an absolutely adorable and wonderful nephew named Andrew, and I can't wait to get to watch him grow. Andrew is the first baby who I have ever seen at such a young age. And I got to hold him too! The whole idea of the miracle of life got present for me today in a way that it never has before.

It's perfect, really, that I would become an aunt this week. I had a doctors appointment on Monday and was officially diagnosed with high blood pressure. In my defense, the nurse taking my blood pressure reading made the mistake of asking me how school was going while putting the inflatable arm-cuff thing around my upper arm. I could literally feel my chest clench as she asked the question. "Stressful," was all I could respond with. I knew I hadn't passed the test when she immediately took a second reading. "I shouldn't have asked you how school was going, huh?"

It just so happens that I had a finance paper due yesterday that was not started on Monday, that I may or may not have spent some sleepless hours thinking about on Sunday evening before my doctor's appointment on Monday. So no, she should not have asked me how school was going before checking my blood pressure. It didn't exactly make my day, though, when my doctor informed me that my blood pressure was what she would have expected in a woman more than twice my age. Oh to be young again.

This week's recipe reflects some changes as a result of the whole high blood pressure thing. I didn't add any salt at all, and didn't even add cheese to this week's recipe. That was no easy feat. I realized today just how addicted I am to cheese. One of these years I'll find an alternative to it. Until then, I'll just be cutting back a bit... maybe...

I found this recipe on epicurious.com. This website may just be my new favorite. I found the written instructions pretty confusing, however. The link to the original recipe: Kaboucha Squash Risotto with Sage and Pinenuts. It makes 6 large portions, and will take at least 2 hours from start to finish.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 2 1/2- to 3-pound kabocha or butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 6 generous cups)

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (The original recipe calls for sherry vinegar, which I didn't have, and only 1 tablespoon. I really like the zing of apple cider vinegar, anyway.)

2 onions, chopped (about 3 cups)

4 cups no-salt added vegetable broth (I couldn't believe they really made that. Good stuff.)

1 1/2 cups arborio rice or medium-grain rice

3/4 cup pine nuts, toasted, divided (I didn't toast the pine nuts. In retrospect, I would have looked up how to do this, as it would have brought out more flavor, I think.)

2 teaspoons cinnamon (this wasn't in the original recipe, but I thought it would work, and it did. Go me. I'm learning how to combine flavors. In some recipes, anyway.)

Preparation: 
Note: I used a large saucepan with high sides for this recipe. If I hadn't had that, I would have used a dutch oven. 
1. Preparing the squash took forever, and epicurious doesn't factor it into the total recipe time, which I found incredibly annoying. At some point growing up when there was nothing else on television, I watched a cooking show that mentioned that if you but butternut squash in the microwave before trying to cut it, it makes it way  easier to cut and prepare. It totally works. Prepping the squash still took a long time, but I didn't break any knives. As far as how small to cut the squash, I think 1/2 inch should be the max, and even smaller wouldn't be bad either.
2.  Cook the squash in a large saucepan in two tablespoons of oil for about 10-12 minutes, until the squash begins to get soft. 5 minutes into the process, add the sage and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Right before removing from the heat, add the 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.
3. Wipe out the pan and cook the onions in the other two tablespoons of olive oil until cooked mostly cooked (about 15 minutes). 
4. Add the rice to the pan and cook for about 4 minutes, until the color changes slightly. Stir the rice so that it doesn't stick. While doing this, heat the vegetable broth in a separate pot with 2 cups of extra water.
5. Add one cup of broth to the rice and onion. The rice must be stirred almost continuously. Once the liquid is all absorbed, add an additional cup. Continue doing this until half of the broth is gone. (About 20 minutes)
6. Add the squash to the pan.
7. Continue adding the broth 3/4 - 1 cup at a time until all of the broth is absorbed. (About another 25 minutes.)
6. Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
FINISHED.


The squash adds a lot of sweetness to this risotto, as well as a lot of volume. While butternut squash has grown on me to the point that I can eat it, it still isn't my favorite vegetable, but oh, well. I did like this risotto. I will likely eat it at work this week - and add cheese.