Budget Gourmet

This past Christmas my sister Alicia made the most incredible risotto. The sweetness of acorn squash combined with the rich risotto, creamy with blue cheese, and cute as can be served up in a squash made the perfect holiday meal This risotto is a perfect main dish for vegetarians and meat eaters alike. I took some liberties with the recipe below (found on Wholefoods website) and added blue cheese and scallions. Next time I think I would replace the pine nuts with walnuts.

Serves 8

Ingredients

4 acorn squash
3 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste
6 cups water or gluten-free vegetable broth
1 cup finely chopped leeks
2 1/2 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
2 cups uncooked Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped sage, divided
2/3 cup pine nuts
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped thyme

Method

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut each acorn squash lengthwise in half (from tip to stem) then scoop out and discard any seeds and stringy flesh. Brush insides of acorn squash with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil and season with salt. Place acorn squash, cut side down, in a baking pan and roast until tender but still firm, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, start the risotto by bringing the broth just to a simmer in a small pot over medium high heat. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy 3-quart pot over medium heat. Add leeks and cook, stirring often, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add butternut squash and cook for 3 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until grains are fragrant. Add wine and stir constantly until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the hot broth to rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is almost completely absorbed. Continue adding broth, 1/2 cup at a time, making sure that most of the liquid is absorbed before adding more. Continue until rice is almost tender, but still firm to the bite, about 20 to 25 minutes total. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the sage and season with salt.

Meanwhile, put pine nuts into a food processor and pulse until coarsely ground. Stir in thyme, remaining 1/2 teaspoon sage and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside.

When acorn squash is cooked, remove from oven. Reduce heat to 300°F. Carefully turn squash over and fill each cavity with about 1/2 cup of the risotto. Gently press about 2 tablespoons of the pine nut mixture on top of the risotto in each squash half. Return squash to oven and bake until topping begins to brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to plates and serve.

Today I did something I've never done before. I, Jamie Hogue, queen of squeamish-ness, de-boned a chicken. Ok, not a whole chicken, but I did remove the skin and breast bones from two split breast chickens. While not my favorite thing, I now have homemade chicken broth cooking and delicious lemon-rosemary chicken waiting to be cooked. The best part about the whole scenario is that 3 giant organic split breast chickens came up to to under $4 (on sale) as opposed to the $15-20 it would have been for skinless, boneless breasts. Two of these will be enough for dinner and lunch tomorrow for the fiance and I. After taking off the skin and removing the bones I slapped on some olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, lemon juice and minced garlic. I think I'll bake them on 375 for about 35 minutes and voila! Add some cous cous and green salad and you have a super delicious meal for under $8!

Cheers!