Risotto — Two ways

For some insane reason, I used to not really like risotto. Not sure what was wrong with me, but I came around, especially after going gluten free.

It's not as hard to make as some people think, AND there is no heavy cream or cheese involved in the making of risotto that gives it that super creamy texture. It's just that way naturally! You may have all known this, but my husband actually asked to watch me make this because he did not believe that I didn't put a pound of cheese or two sticks of butter in when making this.

Last night I made Butternut Squash Risotto. Soooooo good. I was going to include pancetta, but didn't have any so I cut up a little canadian bacon and threw that in there.


Let me apologize NOW for these horrific pictures. I have a ton of recessed lights in my house, but I'm always cooking late and cannot figure out how to get good pics -- anyone? anyone?

Anyway - I roasted the butternut squash for about an hour at 400, and started the risotto while that was still roasting. When the squash was done I cut it up and added it in right at the end along with the canadian bacon.

A couple weeks ago I found some packets of dried mushrooms on sale and bought them with Mushroom Risotto on the brain and voila:


This also came out great. I had a mixture of dried mushrooms including oyster, porcini, shittake, and morels. You bring the dried mushrooms to a boil and cook until soft - then put aside making sure to keep the broth.

Both came out great - not sure if there was a favorite - they're both so good. And I adapted both recipes from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, of course.... If you want the full recipe let me know.