leek and squash risotto (non-dairy)

[redbird]

adrian_turtle made a leek and squash risotto for supper, and it was very good. It contains short-grain rice, broth, leeks, butternut squash, arugula, and I think garlic powder. It was topped with candied pecans, some pieces of squash, and leek-flavored oil. Most of the squash was cooked with the rice, to dissolve and make the risotto rich and creamy. The combination of ingredients gave the dish plenty of umami; I didn't miss the cheese that's typically added to risotto.

Jotting this down now before I forget, I may get Adrian to provide more details or a recipe link later.

Comments

[otter]

That sounds tasty. We had a very simple quinoa, Quorn and jar of alfredo sauce mixed in. I cooked enough quinoa to make a few diferent dinners with it

[redbird]

Adrian made more leek-flavored oil than we needed for this, so I put the rest in the fridge and we’ll see what (if anything) we do with it in the next week or so. The recipe says the leek oil keeps for 7-10 days if refrigerated in a glass jar.

[cmcmck]

I do love a good risotto and this sounds yummy!

[adrian_turtle]

(After a recipe from "Feasting at Home" which was designed for a pressure cooker and a website that is a kind of a mess to follow.) If I do this again I am making the leek oil and nuts more than an hour ahead of time.

Leek Oil:
Coarsely chop the green tops of 3 leeks. Blanch them in salted water. Rinse and pat dry. Pour plain oil over the leaves in a blender or food processor and whir to make a thick slurry. It will not be anywhere near a uniform paste and that's fine. Let it infuse for a few hours at room temperature (or overnight in the refrigerator) and strain.

Candied nuts:
Toss pecan halves or quarters with maple syrup. Spread on parchment on a baking sheet and toast in a 350F oven for ~12 minutes. (Redbird would probably prefer a slightly shorter roast. Cattitude suggested pistachios.)

Squash:
Turn the oven up to 400F. Peel and seed a butternut squash and cut it into cubes of less than 1". Oil and roast on a baking sheet. After ~20 minutes, the squash will be soft but not roasted crisp. Take out about half these "baked squash" cubes and return the others to the oven until they go crispy on the edges.


Risotto:
3 leeks, sliced white parts
1 cup short-grain rice
1 cup cider + cider vinegar + water (mixed to approximate white wine)
4 cups cups hot broth (made from chicken Better Than Boullion, but most people would use veggie stock here.)
0.5 tsp roasted garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
0.5 tsp nutmeg
0.25 tsp black pepper
baked squash cubes, see above
2-3 hands full baby arugula

The recipe said to cover the pan and let the leeks steam but the cover is too heavy for me so I just sauteed them. I salted the leeks when they were starting to brown and then added the rice and stirred it for a couple of minutes to get them toasted. Then I added the cider mix and let most of it boil off. Then mixed in the spices, turned down the heat to a simmer, and did the risotto thing of adding a ladleful of broth and stirring while it's absorbed.
When about 3/4 of the broth was added and the rice was mostly cooked, I added the baked squash. The last few rounds of stirring mashed them a bit to thicken and sweeten the sauce. When the rice was entirely cooked, I turned off the gas and stirred in some arugula to wilt just a little. Recipe suggests baby spinach, but we don't keep that around and arugula was a good contrast with the soft/sweet squash.

Serve topped with cubes of fully roasted squash (those can keep warm while the rice finishes cooking), candied nuts, and a spoonful of leek oil.

[otter]

That seems like quite a bit of hands on time, but also worth the effort

[cmcmck]

Being close to the Welsh border here I can buy leek oil ready made! :o)