Cheesy rice. Does anything need to be said? Well, except that for Karen whose general experience with squash was “Here, try this, I drenched it in sugar and little baby unborn marshmallows” and detested it. For her, having it used in a savory was a revelation.
This recipe is from one of our favorite YouTube channels, PastaGrammar. Eva and Harper have a great way of drawing folks interested in Italian cooking into it in an accessible manner and have great fun doing so.
Compared to Eva’s original, the only thing different about how I’ve made this, I think, is I use larger cubes of butternut squash so they don’t all dissolve into the sauce. That allows for slight variations of taste and texture across the serving. Not a lot, though. Let’s be real–the gorgonzola is the primary flavoring here.
I will note that the 3 cups of butternut squash was about half a squash. I cubed the whole thing, but saved the rest to roast later in the week. Also, while my local market doesn’t carry carnaroli rice, Glorioso’s, the Italian market across town does.
You can find their original at https://www.pastagrammar.com/post/squash-gorgonzola-risotto-authentic-italian-risotto-recipe.
Squash & Gorgonzola Risotto
Ingredients
For the stock
- 1 potato quartered
- 1 stalk celery cut into 4-inch chunks
- 1/2 carrot cut into 4-inch chunks
- 1/2 tomato
- 1 sprig of fresh parsley
- 1 white onion
For the rice
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 200 g carnaroli rice arborio rice can be used, but carnaroli is preferred
For the risotto
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cups butternut squash cubed
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup gorgonzola cheese cubed
- Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for grating
Instructions
- Fill a saucepan with water and add the potato, celery, carrot, tomato, parsley, half of the onion, a splash of olive oil and a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook for 25-30 minutes.
- Dice the rest of the onion. Sauté over medium heat, with 2-3 tbsp of olive oil for about 2 minutes, or until the onion is tender and slightly transparent. Add the cubed squash and sauté, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add a ladle of the vegetable broth into the squash and allow to simmer for 5-6 minutes. If the moisture evaporates, add more broth as needed while the squash cooks.
- While that simmers, melt 1 tbsp butter in a small saucepan and add the rice. Stir frequently for about 1 minute. Add the wine and allow it to simmer until most of the moisture has evaporated.
- Put the toasted rice into the squash and stir all together. Ladle some broth into the risotto. You want enough to keep the rice thinner than oatmeal but thicker than a soup. Keep stirring regularly.
- Allow the risotto to cook for about 18 minutes, or until the rice reaches the desired consistency. As it cooks, continue to add a little broth at a time in order to keep it at the right consistency. When the cook time is nearly finished, reduce or stop the added broth so that the risotto can thicken.
- Turn off the heat and add 1 tbsp butter, the gorgonzola cheese and a generous grating of Parmigiano cheese. Stir all together and allow to rest for 3 minutes before serving. Top with an extra grating of Parmigiano.
Notes
