Yellow Squash Risotto with Yellow Squash Flowers

A friend of mine told me about a dish that her father makes that includes yellow squash and the flowers. I still had those elements in my garden so I decided to make it for lunch yesterday. It was risotto for one while I worked, but it was still a great meal. Risotto does not require constant stirring, and it is possible to whip some up for a working lunch as I proved yesterday.

We were talking about squash because three of my friends ordered the same butternut squash risotto at Les Zebres in Val-David. I tried it and it was very good if a little too loose for my taste. I like the toasted hazelnuts that garnished the risotto, and am a big fan of butternut squash. I was still digesting an Oktoberfest lunch and my free beer (thanks Joe), and decided to show restraint by ordering a tuna tartar entree as a main meal. The tartar was excellent, but truthfully I was starving by 11 pm!

There is a frost warning tonight and I guess it marks the end to a great gardening year. I still have tomatoes galore and am making a large batch of tomato sauce as I write this.

Yellow Squash with flowers Risotto

• 15 ml ( 1 Tbsp) olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
  
• 250 ml (1 cup) aborio rice
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) white wine
• 1 medium yellow or summer squash, large dice
• 5 ml (1 tsp) fresh thyme
• 1 l (4 cups ) chicken or vegetable stock, hot but not boiling on the stove
  
• 30 ml (2 Tbsp) butter
• 5-6 yellow squash flowers, sliced
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) Romano, grated
• Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper
  

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat, and saute the onion until translucent. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the risotto and toast, while stirring, for 1 minute. Deglaze with the wine until dry. Reduce the heat to medium and add half the diced yellow squash, the thyme and 1/2 cup of hot stock. Stir to blend. When the liquid has been absorbed add another 1/2 cup until the risotto is the desired consistency. Some people like their risotto al dente. I prefer my own a little softer than that and would use the full amount of stock. When risotto is ready remove it from the heat. In a saute pan melt half the butter and saute the remaining yellow squash until slightly browned. Add to the risotto. In the same pan melt the remaining butter and saute the squash flowers until slightly golden. Add the cheese to the risotto and season to taste. Garnish with the sauteed flowers. Serve immediately.

Asparagus risotto

I first learned to make risotto, embarrassingly enough, with a look and cook book back in the day. I have never had the pleasure of cooking risotto in a professional kitchen. When I did my stage at Cube, (like an internship for cooks), I witnessed a Sous-Chef being told by the Chef that his risotto was too loose. The maker of the risotto in question agreed as he he slammed his pan back on the stove in frustration. It was a tense moment but Cube didn't let anything out into the dining room unless it was perfect. At home making risotto doesn't have to be such a tense endeavor. It's a dish that is hard to mess up and doesn't require much skill beyond stirring. I like my arborio , (the rice traditionally used for risotto), soft and not a little al dente as is often called for.

Asparagus is one the best spring vegetables for a risotto dish. It has a lot of character and marries well with the cheese in the dish. When Parmesan cheese is called for in a risotto recipe I prefer Pecorino Romano for it's intense and fruity flavor, a perfect accompaniment for the more neutral taste of the rice.

For an issue of the now defunct Cucina etc. an Italian cooking magazine published in Quebec we devoted and issue and the cover to risotto. I made a lot of risotto that week in studio. The cover in question accompanies this blog post.

Here is a classic recipe from Bon appetit for the dish in question:

Asparagus risotto

• 1 1/2 pounds asparagus
• 5 cups (about) canned low-salt chicken broth
• 1 cup water

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cups arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• Fresh rosemary sprigs (optional)

Preparation

Trim tough ends from asparagus; discard. Cut off asparagus tips and reserve. Cut stalks into 3/4-inch-long pieces. Place 2/3 of stalk pieces, 1 cup broth and 1 cup water in blender. Puree until smooth. Set aside.

Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and saute until tender, about 8 minutes. Add rice and stir 1 minute. Add wine and cook until absorbed, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup broth and chopped rosemary; simmer until liquid is absorbed, stirring often, about 4 minutes. Continue to cook for 15 minutes, adding more broth by 1/2 cupfuls and allowing liquid to be absorbed before adding more, stirring often. Add remaining asparagus stalk pieces and reserved asparagus tips and continue cooking until rice is just tender and mixture is creamy, adding broth as needed and stirring often, about 10 minutes longer. Add reserved asparagus puree and stir until absorbed, about 3 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan and cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer risotto to bowl. Garnish with rosemary sprigs, if desired. Serve, passing remaining Parmesan separately.