Risotto With Summer Squash And Fontina Food

LEMON RISOTTO WITH SUMMER SQUASH

Steps:

• Put your stock or broth into a saucepan, and bring it to a simmer over low heat with a ladle nearby or in the pot. Make sure that the stock or broth is well seasoned.
• Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a wide, heavy nonstick skillet. Add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Add the squash and a generous pinch of salt. Turn the heat up to medium high, and cook, stirring often, until the squash is translucent but not too soft, about five minutes.
• Stir in the rice and the garlic, and stir until the grains separate and begin to crackle. Add the wine, and stir until it has been absorbed. Turn the heat back down to medium, and begin adding the simmering stock a couple of ladlefuls (about 1/2 cup) at a time. The stock should just cover the rice and should be bubbling, not too slowly but not too quickly. Cook, stirring often, until the rice is just about absorbed. Add another ladleful or two of the stock, and continue to cook in this fashion, stirring in more stock when the rice is almost dry. You do not have to stir constantly, but stir often.
• When the rice is tender all the way through but still chewy, in about 25 minutes, it is done. Taste now and adjust seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste. Add another ladleful of stock to the rice. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley and Parmesan. Remove from the heat. The mixture should be creamy (add more stock if it isn't). Serve right away in wide soup bowls or on plates, spreading the risotto in a thin layer rather than a mound.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND VANILLA RISOTTO

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, warm the broth over medium-high heat. Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds and add them, and the bean, to the broth. When the broth comes to a simmer reduce the heat to low. Add the butternut squash to the simmering broth and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon remove the butternut squash to a side dish. Turn the heat on the broth down to very low and cover to keep warm.
• Meanwhile, in a large, heavy saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender but not brown, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat with the butter. Add the wine and simmer until the wine has almost completely evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the simmering broth and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking the rice, adding the broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition to of the broth to absorb before adding the next, until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite and the mixture is creamy, about 20 minutes total. Discard the vanilla bean. Turn off the heat. Gently stir in the butternut squash, Parmesan, the remaining tablespoon of butter, and salt. Transfer the risotto to a serving bowl and sprinkle with chives. Serve
• immediately.

RISOTTO WITH SUMMER SQUASH AND FONTINA

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a heavy 2-quart saucepan.
• Add in the onion and cook slowly over low heat until it is very soft and just beginning to take on color.
• Add the squash and continue cooking over low heat until squash is nearly tender.
• Add the rice and, stirring constantly, saute until the grains of rice are opaque and make a clicking sound against the metal of the saucepan, about 1-2 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the broth until it is very hot; turn off the heat, but keep the broth hot on a warm burner.
• Add the white wine to the rice and cook slowly, stirring constantly, until it is completely absorbed.
• Add the hot broth to the rice one ladleful at a time, stirring frequently.
• The rice should cook very slowly over low heat.
• Wait until all the liquid is absorbed before adding the next ladleful of broth.
• Midway in the cooking time, add salt and pepper.
• When the rice is just barely tender, add the fontina and gently cook, stirring continuously, until the cheese begins to soften.
• Add the basil, 2 tablespoons butter, and the Parmesan cheese.
• Turn off the heat and stir vigorously until all the butter and cheese are absorbed.
• Pass additional Parmesan at the table.

BAKED RIGATONI WITH SPINACH, RICOTTA, AND FONTINA

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Oil a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
• In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the rigatoni until almost done, about 12 minutes.
• Drain.
• Put the pasta in the prepared baking dish and toss with 1 tablespoon of the oil.
• Meanwhile, squeeze as much of the water as possible from the spinach.
• Put the spinach in a food processor and puree with the ricotta, 3 tablespoons of the Parmesan, the nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
• Stir in half the fontina.
• Stir the spinach mixture into the pasta.
• Top with the remaining fontina and Parmesan.
• Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons oil over the top.
• Bake the pasta until the top is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
• VARIATION:.
• You can substitute another chunky pasta, such as penne rigate, penne, ziti, or fusilli. Boil all of these one or two minutes less.

SUMMER SQUASH AND TOMATO RISOTTO

Steps:

• Mince the onion, keeping the onion pieces about the same size as the rice grains. Dice the zucchini, reserving the ends.
• Remove the tomatoes from the oven. Discard the basil leaves. Purée the tomatoes in a food processor or by hand by chopping and mincing the tomatoes on a cutting board until no chunks remain. Set aside ½ cup of Tomato Purée. (Reserve the remainder for another use.)
• Melt 2 tablespoons of cold butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the onions and cook very slowly, until the onion is tender but has taken on no color. In a separate sauce pot, bring vegetable stock to a simmer, and infuse with the zucchini ends and basil stems.
• Add the rice to the butter and onion soffritto and toast, stirring with a spoon, for about 4 minutes. Toast at a low heat; do not let the rice take on color. When the rice is toasted and the grains are a nice white color, add the wine and cook over moderate heat until all the wine is reduced. Set a timer to 16 minutes. Start adding the hot stock to the rice, one ladle at a time, just covering the rice. Repeat, adding more stock, each time the liquid has absorbed into the rice. Continue to stir after each addition of stock and wine. (Note: At the eight-minute mark, move on to step 6.)
• At the eight-minute or halfway mark, add the zucchini. Continue cooking for the final eight minutes while adding the remaining stock. Dice the remaining cold butter and set aside. When the timer goes off, let the rice rest for about thirty seconds but no more, to prevent cooling. Finish by adding the Parmigiano-Reggiano, Tomato Purée, diced butter, and squash blossoms (optional); then stir.
• Season with the salt and adjust the rice with some warm stock if necessary. The final consistency should be creamy and spread slowly on the plate. Serve immediately on warmed plates. Garnish with a chiffonade of mixed basil leaves.
• (Note: If you want to skip making the Tomato Puree, combine 1/2 cup of plain tomato sauce with 1 grated clove of garlic.) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Core the tomatoes. With a sharp knife, cut the tomatoes through the equator and lay cut side up on a half-sheet pan fitted with a wire rack. Season the tomatoes with the salt evenly. Cut the garlic into thin slices and place a slice of garlic on each tomato half. Finish with some basil chiffonade on each tomato. Drizzle the tomatoes with olive oil and roast in the oven, 1 1/2 hours.