No matter how much Pat loves winter squash, even she knows that she can’t eat all thirty of them by herself. Yikes! Here’s a lovely risotto we made recently with about half of one butternut squash that Pat brought over. (The other half went into pumpkin bread.) The risotto is so simple, with arborio rice, squash, broth, onions, white wine, and Parmesan; it just takes a bit of attention (stirring) while the rice slowly absorbs the broth. Adapted from a recipe by Biba Caggiano, published in the Sacramento Bee, May 1988. Continue cooking, stirring rice enough to keep it from sticking to the pan, adding a little bit of broth at a time, cooking and stirring until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender but still firm to the bite, about 15 to 20 minutes. At this point, the rice should have a creamy consistency. Add salt to taste. (The amount of salt you add will depend on how salty your broth was to begin with. I usually add at least a teaspoon of salt, sometimes more.) Serve with the remaining grated Parmesan.
