Roasted Pumpkin + Sage Risotto

This recipe is one of my fall favorites.
If you've never made risotto, it might seem a bit daunting, but really it's very easy. It just takes time. Stirring, stirring, stirring. It is oh so worth it. Risotto is an Italian staple, originating in the North of Italy where rice paddies are abundant. {it might also have something to do with the stick-to -the-ribs warming quality of the dish in the winter}. Canaroli is my rice of choice. It's a bit more expensive, but the finished dish depends on quality of the rice. You want the rice to be al dente, yet creamy. Once cooked, you pretty much have to enjoy it presto, right away. As the Italian saying goes, "risotto waits for no one."

ROASTED PUMPKIN + SAGE RISOTTO

1 Medium sweet pumpkin
4 cups organic chicken broth
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 cup yellow onion, chopped
1 tbsp. garlic, chopped
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup canaroli or vialone nano rice
1 cup Pumpkin Pesto
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup Parmesean cheese

Roasting the Pumpkin:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cut the top off of the pumpkin and remove the pulp and seeds from the inside. {Save the seeds for roasting later}.
Rub the pumpkin lightly with olive oil and place on a parchment-lined sheetpan. Bake in the middle rack of the oven until golden brown and soft, about 45 minutes to an hour. The flesh of the pumpkin should be tender and easily pierced with a fork. Keep warm until ready to serve with the risotto.

Making the risotto:
Heat broth on low simmer until ready to use. In a medium- size saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Saute the onions and garlic until soft. Add white wine and reduce by half, stirring occassionally to make sure all of the rice is evenly coated and does not burn on the bottom. Turn heat to medium high. Stirring continuously, add broth by 1/2 cup increments. As the liquid evaporates, add more. Within 20 minutes , taste for a creamy texture . Add pesto and continue stirring until risotto is al dente. Stir in mascarpone and Parmesan cheese just until blended. Serve at once with fried sage leaves and grated cheese.

Making the fried sage leaves:
You can cook these just before making the risotto.
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
10-12 fresh sage leaves, washed and dried.

Heat the butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the sage leaves and cook just until crisp, the butter will be foamy and just turning a light brown. Remove the pan from the heat and with a slotted spoon, transfer the sage leaves to a paper- lined plate. Set aside until Ready to use.

Buon appetito!


* PHOTO CREDIT: Thanks to Edie Kirkman for her beautiful photograph taken at Whole Foods Cooking School in Atlanta.


copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

Smoked Pork Chops with Sautéed Sage + Peach Risotto

My favorite meals are usually those that evolve organically...not those that come about when I have to put food on the table whether I feel like it or not. It's on nights when I have a bit of time to putter, and change my mind as I go along, that the best meals happen.

The other evening was one of those nights.

I started it out buying ingredients for one meal and ended up creating two. (I guess that's what they call two for the price of one?) Thank God, because I nearly die every time I think about how much I end up spending on dinner for just the two of us.

{Umm...might it have something to do with the armloads of wine?}

Peaches are in season, so they unintentionally--but oh, so appropriately!--crept into the menu. Sauteed slowly in butter, simmering to a delicate, soft sweetness in leftover Prosecco sparkling wine. I never would have imagined combining them in risotto, but along with some sweet onion and sage, it was just right on the plate with smoked porkchops.



I may have had to use a few too many pots, but layering the flavor is what it's all about. Stay tuned for meal number two...


SMOKED PORK CHOPS WITH SAUTEED SAGE + PEACH RISOTTO

2 smoked pork chops {uncooked pork chops work wonderfully here too}
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 peach, stone removed and cut into 1/4 slices
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup white wine or prosecco
salt + pepper to taste
4 ounces guanciale, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 medium onion, sliced into thin half-moons
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves
1 cup risotto rice {canaroli works well for this dish}
4 cups chicken broth, warmed
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bring the pork chops to room temperature. Season lightly with salt and pepper. In a medium sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and sear the pork chops until lightly browned on both sides. Remove to a plate and cover with foil until ready to finish cooking.

In the same pan, add the butter and melt over medium heat. Add the peaches and sugar and cook until they are lightly browned. {Optional: add 1/2 cup white wine or prosecco and continue to cook until most of the liquid is absorbed and the peaches are soft.} Remove from the heat into a bowl and set aside until ready to use.

In the samé saute pan, add the guanciale and cook over low heat until the fat is rendered and the pieces are lightly browned and crisp. With a slotted spoon, remove onto a paper-lined plate.

Toss the onions, sage and garlic into the rendered fat in the same sauté pan. Cook over medium heat until the onions are soft and caramelized. Add the rice and sauté for another minute until well-coated. Add the remaining white wine or prosecco and cook until most the liquid is absorbed. Season with 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Adding a ladle or two at a time, cook the rice over medium high heat, stirring constantly until the rice is fully expanded and has an al dente texture. The rice should be loose, but not runny. Stir in the Parmesan cheese. Gently fold in the peaches. Top with the guanciale. Serve immediately.

Serves two.













Buon appetito!
copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

The underappreciated summer squash?

Squash is boring! That is what I imagine most people say when they think of this age old, grandmother's kitchen vegetable.
Yellow squash was the step child until it was picked as a miniature and made into nouvelle cuisine. Still, not long on length or flavor. But, for some reason, I bought a batch at the market with high hopes of finding some new recipe or simply sautee them in salted sweet cream butter. How can anything NOT taste good sauteed in butter?!
Within 24 hours the room temp squash has diminished by half, the other half quickly rotted and began molding. In one day? These are high maintainence veggies. Just a few left, I couldn't let them suffer and so decided to , um, sautee them in butter.
But I took it one step further, I added them to a savory risotto base with organic chicken stock, green garlic and tender baby leeks. The result? Delicious, of course. But it is hard to say if it was the squash or the buttery, starchy, garlic, yummy risotto.

Risotto with Sauteed leeks and yellow summer squash

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 pint of baby yellow squash, cut into rounds
1 fresh garlic clove, whole
1 cup baby leeks, cut into 1/4 half moon slices
1 and 1/2 cups risotto rice {canaroli, arborio or vialone nano are good choices}
1 cup Prosecco sparkling Italian wine {save the rest for dinner!}
4 cups organic chicken stock
2 Tbsp. mascarpone cheese
2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese.
salt and pepper to taste.

In a medium pot, heat the broth.
In medium saucepan, heat 1 Tbsp. butter until melted. Add the squash, season and sautee just until soft and slightly carmelized.
Remove from pan and set aside until ready to use. Add the remaining olive oil and butter to the pan and heat until melted. Add the garlic and leeks and sautee just until soft and translucent, but not browned. Add the rice and gently stir just until the grains of rice are well coated. Add the prosecco and reduce liquid by one half. Turn the heat to medium high and begin ladeling in the broth one cup at a time, stirring constantly and adding another ladle once the broth is almost absorbed. Continue until the rice is al dente, depending on the type of rice you use, you will use anywhere from 3-4 cups of broth.
Gently fold in the cooked squash, mascarpone and parmesan cheese .
Eat and enjoy immediately with a glass of chilled prosecco.


copyright Alisa Barry 2007