Risotto
Quinotto is the quinoa equivalent of risotto. Since risotto is one of my favorite foods, I thought I would give this a try. It turned out to be delicious and the roasted squash gave this dish a wonderful flavor…it’s a close second, but nothing beats out risotto!
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 lb Butternut Squash, peeled & cubed
Salt & Pepper
1/2 Cup Uncooked Quinoa, rinsed
A Handful of Cilantro, chopped
1 Carrot, grated
5 White Mushrooms, sliced
2 Garlic Cloves, finely grated
1 small onion, shopped
1 1/2 Cups Vegetable or Chicken Stock
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place the butternut squash on a baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 Tablespoon olive oil and season with salt & pepper and about 1 Tablespoon cilantro. Toss to combine. Roast in oven for 30 minutes, or until tender and lightly browned.
Cook the quinoa. A rice cooker works well or you can cook it on the stovetop. Add the quinoa along with 1 cup of water to a saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. For a rice cooker, add the quinoa along with 1 cup water and turn on.
Heat the remaining 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to a sauté pan over medium high heat. Add the garlic and onion, cooking for a couple minutes to soften the onion. Add the mushrooms, remaining cilantro and 1/2 cup stock. Cover and simmer for about 5-7 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed.
Mix the grated carrot into the cooked quinoa. Stir the quinoa and remaining stock into the veggies in the sauté pan. Fold in the squash. Cover and simmer a few more minutes to let the remaining liquid absorb.
Serves: 4 as main dish
-Recipe adapted from FitSugar -
Tags: Butternut Squash, Dairy Free, Dinner, Gluten & Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Mushrooms, Quinotto, Risotto
Risotto and sweet potatoes are two of my favorite things. Put them together and it’s a heavenly dish! This risotto would be good with any type of sweet potato.
Ingredients:
5 Cups Chicken or Vegetable Stock
1-2 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 Onion, Chopped
1 Stalk Celery, diced
2 Cups Short Grain Brown Rice
1lb Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 Clove Garlic, finely grated
Salt & Pepper
Nutmeg, freshly grated
2 Tablespoons Butter
Heat the stock in a sauce pan and keep warm over low heat.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and celery. Cook until softened, about 3-5 minutes. Add the rice and sweet potatoes, cooking 2-3 minutes to toast the grains. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Start adding the stock, 1-2 ladlefuls at a time. Stir frequently until almost all of the liquid is absorbed before adding more stock. Keep adding stock until the rice is softened and creamy. This will take about 45 minutes with brown rice.
Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add a little nutmeg and stir in the butter.
Serves: 4
Tags: Dinner, Gluten Free, Risotto, Sweet Potato
I think I say this all the time, but risotto is my favorite food. So creamy, delicious and cheesy. The asparagus is a nice addition to risotto.
Ingredients:
1 lb Asparagus, tough ends trimmed & cut into 1-inch pieces (keep the stalks separate from the tips)
6 to 7 cups Chicken Broth
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Onion, diced
1 1/2 Cups Brown Rice
1/4 teaspoon Salt
3 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
Bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil. Add half of the asparagus stalks (no tips). Cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Drain and blend in a food processor with a little water until smooth. Set aside.
Heat the broth in a sauce pan and keep warm over low heat.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
Add the rice and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the broth a ladle full at a time, stirring frequently until almost all the liquid is absorbed before adding more. Keep adding liquid until the rice is softened, about 45 minutes. After about 30 minutes, add in the remaining asparagus stalks and tips.
Once the rice is softened, stir in the asparagus puree.
Remove from the heat, stir in the butter and cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Yield: 4 Servings
Tags: Asparagus, Dinner, Gluten Free, Parmesan Cheese, Risotto
I don’t typically buy chard, but Red Swiss Chard came in my produce co-op basket this week. This is definitely the best way I’ve found to eat your greens! This is adapted from a Bon Appétit recipe.
Ingredients:
6-7 Cups Chicken Broth
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups Short Grain Brown Rice
4 Cups (packed) Coarsely Chopped Red Swiss Chard Leaves (1 bunch)
2 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
Salt & Pepper
Additional Grated Parmesan Cheese, for serving
Pour the chicken broth into a sauce pan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
In a large sauce pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, cooking until softened, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in the rice and red chard, cooking until the chard begins to wilt down.
Start adding the broth, 1-2 ladlefuls at a time. Stir frequently until almost all of the liquid is absorbed before adding more broth. Keep adding broth until the rice is softened and creamy. This will take about 45 minutes with brown rice.
Remove from heat and stir in the butter and Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve with additional Parmesan cheese on top.
Serves: 4-6
Tags: Brown Rice, Brown Rice Chard, Chard, Chard Main Dish, Gluten Free, Greens, Main Dish Chard, Parmesan Cheese, Red Chard, Red Chard and Rice, Rice, Risotto, Side Dish, Swiss Chard
We love butternut squash here! It is delicious, easy to cook with, and can be used in a variety of ways. Today I made risotto with it. Risotto is awesome and actually quite easy to make. If you haven’t made risotto before, you are missing out. We normally use short grain brown rice instead of the usual arborio rice. Brown rice is healthier than white rice and has so much more flavor. This time I used arborio just to mix things up a bit. We decided that we like the brown rice better than the white. Just be aware that using brown rice takes a lot longer to cook than the arborio.
Ingredients:
6 cups Chicken Broth (possibly another cup if using brown rice)
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
1 Onion, chopped
Crushed Red Pepper, about an 1/8 tsp depending on how spicy you like it
1 Butternut Squash, about 1lb
2 Cups Arborio or Short Grain Brown Rice
1 Tsp Dried Sage (or 1 Tbsp Chopped Fresh Sage)
3/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese (Mozzarella works as well)
Simmer the chicken broth in a sauce pot.
Melt half of the butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat and cook the onion until tender. While the onion is cooking, prepare the butternut squash. Peel the squash, cut it in half, scoop out the seeds (a grapefruit spoon works well for this), and chop it up.
To the onions, add crushed red pepper and the butternut squash. Cook for 2-3 minutes and add the rice. Toast the grains slightly. This will take only a few minutes.
Once the grains are toasted, it’s time to start adding the broth. Turn down the heat to medium. Add a ladle full of the simmering broth at a time, waiting until almost all the liquid is absorbed to add more. Stir every time more liquid is added (you don’t need to constantly stir though). Make sure the pan doesn’t get completely dry because the rice will burn quickly if there is no liquid. Don’t worry about using every drop of the broth, just use as mush as you need. It will be done when the rice is tender and creamy. It takes about 15 minutes for the arborio rice and 30-45 minutes for brown rice.
Turn off the heat and stir in the remaining butter, sage and cheese.
Now you have no excuse to not make risotto. So easy and so delicious!
Tags: Butternut Squash, Dinner, Gluten Free, Risotto