Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto with Goat Cheese, Pine Nuts and Sage

Anova Culinary

Risotto is rice dish cooked to a creamy consistency and the favorite way to cook rice in Italy. The broth is slowly absorbed to give it that creamy texture but it requires constant attention by adding the broth slowly and continuously stirring. But what if didn't have to pay attention? What if there was a way to cook risotto without having to stand over a pot for 30 minutes. This is why sous vide is so perfect for making risotto. This version combines the deep rich flavors of Autumn - butternut squash and sage - with the additional creaminess and earthiness of goat cheese.. This is the epitome of comfort food.

Author

David LaForce

I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice.  I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention.  I translate books on tape for refugees, I write award-winning operas, and I manage time efficiently. Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.  I woo people with my godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed and I can cook thirty-five minute brownies in twenty minutes.  I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru. Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants.  I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Cubs and I am the subject of numerous documentaries.  When I am bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard.  I enjoy urban hang-gliding and on Wednesdays, after work, I repair electrical appliances free of charge. I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst and ruthless bookie.  Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear.  I don’t perspire, children trust me and I bat 400. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail.  I have been caller number nine and have won the weekend passes and last summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force demonstration.  My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy, I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket and I have performed several covert operations for the CIA.  I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining from that evening.  I sleep once a week and when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair.  While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a  group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven. I breed prizewinning clams and the laws of Physics do not apply to me. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka and spelling bees at the Kremlin. I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery and I have spoken with Elvis.

Prep Time: 00:00

Recipe Time: 01:15

Temperature : 183F / 83.9C

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Set your Anova Sous Vide Precision Cooker to 183ºF / 83.9ºC
  2. Set oven temperature to 425
  3. Remove ends of butternut squash and half lengthwise. Remove seeds. On a foil lined baking sheet, place butternut squash cut side up and brush with olive oil, salt and pepper.
  4. Bake until fully soft inside, about 45-55 minutes. Remove the insides and save for later.
  5. In a small saucepan, saute shallot in olive oil until translucent, 3 minutes
  6. Add rice and stir for one minute.
  7. Add white wine and allow to absorb.
  8. Once fully absorbed, add mixture to Ziploc bag along with butternut squash, vegetable stock and thyme.
  9. Cook for 65-75 minutes shaking the bag every 15 minutes. At 65 minutes taste the rice for doneness. If underdone cook longer. When done, remove from bag into pot and mix in cheese, butter and salt and pepper to taste (I added 1.5 Tsp).

Finishing Steps

  1. In a small saucepan over medium, heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil. When oil is hot, add pine nuts, stirring until coated with oil. Toast for 2 to 3 minutes or until nuts start to turn golden brown.
  2. In a small saucepan over medium, heat 4 Tbsp oil, or enough to form a 1/4-thick layer in the bottom of the pan. When the oil is hot and shimmering, add sage leaves, 2 or 3 at a time (be careful, they will crackle). Cook for about 30 seconds then quickly remove from oil and transfer to a paper-towel lined plate to cool.
  3. Garnish risotto with goat cheese, pine nuts and sage leaves.