I love risotto , but it can be as bland and flat as nursery food. When I was at the Little Nell in Aspen a few years ago, I had a risotto that I thought put most other restaurant versions of the dish to shame. The secret, I learned, was a splash of fresh lemon juice at the end.
Risotto is, like roast chicken, one of those dishes that’s usually better made at home than at a restaurant. Most restaurants par-cook their risotto, losing some of its essential creaminess. I once worked with a French chef who premade his risotto, added butter and cheese to it and kept it hot in a steam table.
There are a few different ways to cook risotto. The traditional way is to add the hot broth in increments, though I have had excellent risottos that have been made by adding the broth all at once or prepared in a pressure cooker.
The crucial part of making a risotto is the last minute or so: making sure the dish is the perfect creamy consistency and properly seasoned, and then rushing it to the table.
There are two different schools of thought about the final addition of butter and cheese: You can gently fold them in at the last minute, as my wife does, or you can beat them in with a wooden spoon while vigorously agitating the pan at them same time, as I was taught to do.
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Butternut Squash Risotto with Fried Sage Serves four.
Ingredients
1 small butternut squash
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon ground fennel seed
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Salt and pepper6 cups chicken broth2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, finely diced
1½ cups Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
1 bay leaf
4 tablespoons canola oil
12 sage leaves 3-ounce piece Parmesan,half of it grated
½ lemon
Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Cut the butternut squash in half, remove the seeds with a spoon and place the squash in a mixing bowl. Toss the squash with 1 tablespoon olive oil, fennel, brown sugar and salt and pepper. Place cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake for about 1 hour or until tender.
Remove the squash and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. With a spoon, scoop out the pulp and mix in a food processor until smooth. Taste for seasoning. Cool and refrigerate, covered, until ready to use.
To make the risotto, heat the broth in a small pot. In another, heavy-bottomed pot, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter over low-medium heat. Add the onion and sweat until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.
Add the Arborio rice and stir well with a wooden spoon until coated with fat, about 2 minutes. Add the white wine and the bay leaf and cook until the wine is evaporated, stirring often. Start adding the broth in increments. Add enough of the hot broth to cover the rice by about one-half inch and cook until the rice is almost dry, stirring often.
Meanwhile, heat the canola oil in a small pot for about 3 minutes over low heat. Add the sage leaves and fry just until they crisp up, about 10 seconds. Transfer to a paper towel and sprinkle with salt. Set aside.
Continue to add the broth until the rice is al dente and most of the broth is gone.
With a wooden spoon, vigorously whisk in the squash purée, the remaining butter and half the Parmesan while moving the pot back and forth. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and more seasoning if necessary. Divide among four bowls and with a vegetable peeler, shave the remaining Parmesan over the top. Garnish with the fried sage and serve immediately.
