I have two very dear friends, E&M, who have been married for close to a year and half now, and who have fallen easily in step with each other's dietary preferences, meaning that they both now opt for a lactose-free and vegetarian diet. While many cooks can often be bothered by having to deal with the dietary "restrictions" of their guests, I truly feel honoured when E&M will let me cook for them. Thus, when they accepted my invitation to dinner this past Wednesday evening, I very eagerly set to work at creating a menu especially for the occasion.
I had discussed the risotto-making process with them several times during our many food-related conversations, so I decided that the dish would be the featured main dish of the evening. My next decision would be flavour. I definitely wanted to put to good use the Acorn squash that I had roasted off the previous weekend. However I had already prepared a squash risotto for myself at the weekend, so I decided that for this occasion I would present the risotto inside the fleshy cavity of the gourd. This meant that I needed a flavour for the risotto that would nicely complement the sweetness of the squash without overpowering it. With a conscientious browse through of the pantry, I decided that the delicate saffron filaments would provide the perfect flavour background, while fresh tomatoes would help to give the risotto both its base and acidic contra-flavour - if such a thing exists.
Setting to work, I first prepared all my ingredients by boiling 4 cups of water to create a vegetable bouillon with those packaged cubes our family likes to stock up on in France. Next I peeled and seeded my 4 tomatoes, diced up my 1 onion and a couple of cloves of garlic, and measured out 2 cups of arborio rice - 1 tomato and a good cup and a half of rice would probably be sufficient for three people, but I always like to play/cook on the safe side. Next in the process I heated a few drizzles of olive oil in a sauce pan and added the onion and garlic to sweat for about 5 minutes. Next the rice went in with a good stir so that it became even coated with the oil as well. After letting that cook for a good 3 minutes I added about a quarter of a cup of dry white vermouth (white wine would work equally well here), and the saffron filaments, stirring all the while. Once the liquid was almost fully evaporated I added enough stock to just cover the rice - again the four cups is way more than enough for this quantity of rice, but I needed a little to ensure that my squash would not dry out in the oven as I reheated it.
The key to the risotto-making process is really to devote all your time and attention to stirring it as it cooks, and as the liquid evaporates. This allows you to really stop the cooking process when the rice reaches the point of exact al dente perfection. This was the point when I added my diced tomatoes and stirred one final time to incorporate them thoroughly into the savoury mixture. This is the point when many people will add any other flavour enhancers as well such as cream or any cheeses, but I can testify - and hopefully E&M can too - that this risotto goes just as well without. However we did have some grated Pecorino Romano on the table, as sheep's milk is apparently lactose free, to sprinkle on our finished dishes. YUMMY:)
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