Win Some, Cheat Some

I made the risotto last night, and, turns out, I cheated. It took much longer than 30 minutes, and is not a crockpot risotto as I had led myself to believe. On the other hand, it was awesome. So on day two I broke my own rules, and had I not gotten home super early we would have been eating cheese and crackers for dinner and risotto for breakfast. I took about an hour, but most of that was 30 seconds of effort in 7-10 minutes intervals, so it was manageable while engaging a toddler. We even went and got the mail.

Farro is an ancient grain, with tons of protein and fiber and a nice solid nutty flavor. It's heavier than rice or pasta- more like barley or bulgar- and I now think it's the best thing since and including sliced bread.

This was based on a recipe in Fitness magazine that I stole from the gym, but then I remembered the bacon trimmings I bought on a whim, and realized that would be even better than spicy chicken sausage. This was literally after I had diligently recipe-followed and thrown the sausage in the oven with the squash, so in retrospect I may have changed even more things. The recipe I propose is close to what I made, but with the genius of hindsight.

Since this is a real recipe, I'll show off a bit and write a separate recipe list.

Squash Risotto:
3 cups 1-inch cubed butternut squash (Trader Joe's sells pre-cubed, in bags)
2 tblsp olive oil
1/2 tblsp minced garlic (this comes pre-minced in jars- not quite as good, but good enough)
1 tblsp dried sage
4-5 slices of bacon, or ~1/4 cup bacon trimmings
1 1/2 cups farro (Whole Foods was the only place I found this- it's a grain that looks a lot like barley)
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 large shallot, minced (I'd sub in 3 tblsp pre-chopped onion next time)
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup grated asiago (parm, asiago, or any other similar hard cheese or blend)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 375. Put the squash in a baking dish; add 1tblsp olive oil and dried sage and stir to coat. Lay bacon over the squash and bake for about 20 min. Flip the bacon. Cook for another 20 min. Try to check occasionally that the bacon isn't burning (if it is, take it out and let cool), and that the squash isn't done. A fork or knife should easily push through the chunks, but they shouldn't be so mushy you could mash them without really trying.

Once you put the squash in the oven, start dealing with the farro. It's supposed to be rinsed and drained, but I always skip steps like that and it turned out fine. In a pot big enough to hold 3 cups of broth, bring the broth to a simmer. In a larger pot (I like one with a lot of surface area and a 4 inch sides, sort of half frying pan, half pot) heat the other tblsp of oil on medium heat. Add the shallot, and the minced garlic. Cook for a couple minutes until soft. Add the farro and stir to coat it with the oil. Add the wine; cook until absorbed, about 6 minutes. Stir in two ladles of chicken broth, cover with the lid slightly cracked and bring to a simmer. When the stock is mostly absorbed, ~5 minutes, add another 2 scoops, mostly cover (leave a crack), and let continue to simmer. Continue this process until the stock is gone. No, you can't just dump all the broth in and end up with risotto. It just doesn't work like that, unless you try a crockpot/pressure cooker version (I've been meaning to try those, but none has caught my fancy yet- I'll be sure to try one soon and tell you how it goes).

Once the last of the broth has been absorbed into the farro, remove from heat and stir in the asiago. The recipes all say to let risotto 'rest' for 5 minutes, covered. This is a great time to finish with the squash and bacon.

Stir the parsley into the risotto. Either mix in the squash and bacon bits, too, or scoop the risotto onto plates/bowls and top with the squash and bacon.

There are a lot of steps, and the risotto requires care or it will burn and stick to the pan. I find that just setting the timer for 5 minute intervals works, as long as I reset it for 2 or 3 min when it goes off and I find that the broth hasn't absorbed. I need to be reminded to check on things like this, and I have a handful of poor, blackened pots to prove it.

However, it's not hard, and it was amazingly good. The leftovers were wonderful, too, for two lunches.

It would have been a complete meal with a salad or some steamed broccoli, but with the last minute startle that it wasn't a crockpot easy risotto, I really didn't have time.