squashed!

Celebrating my husbands birthday last week at DBGB kitchen and bar, Daniel Boulud's brasserie inspired downtown pub, I indulged in east coast oysters, a glass of sparkling wine, and a sinfully delicious duck confit served over squash risotto, garnished with caramelized cipollini onions and fried sage leaves. What a treat!

We are particularly fond of DBGBs for relaxed celebrations. The food is always top notch, the wine and beer list extensive, the service: impeccable and the interior: uncramped and comfortable, reminiscent of a first class railway dining car from some delightful old movie. I particularly love the open shelving displays of wines, dry goods and magnificent copper cooking pots, each with its own plaque naming the famous chef who donated it. My, Mr. Boulud has some generous friends!

The squash risotto I had that night was something I wanted to make at home. Boulud's version was smooth and creamy, with the squash completely melted into the liquid of the rice, like baby food. True comfort food.  Digging into my cupboard I found a package of pearl barley and recalled a recipe using the risotto style cooking technique with this grain instead of arborio rice. Aha, why not? The result is a nuttier, chewier version of classic risotto; a nice variation. This method is a great way to incorporate a different grain into your menu. I used acorn squash instead of the more expected choice of butternut squash and gave it an extra boost of flavor by roasting it before adding it to the "risotto."

Consider trying pearl barley as a substitute for arborio rice in risotto recipes.

Squash risotto seems to be the dish of the hour. I found it again on a restaurant menu last week, this time at Alobar, a charming restaurant with a bit of a Spanish flair in Long Island City. Alobar's version was a pumpkin risotto garnished with pearl onions and topped with the inspired addition of sauteed chard,  a great bitter counterpoint to the sweet creamy rice.

Whether making it at home or sampling it a restaurant, squash risottos are not to be missed. This time of year a warming dish of winter squash bathed grains will fill the belly and the satisfy the soul.

 Acorn Squash Barley "Risotto"

2 cups of acorn squash, peeled and cubed
2 Tbs olive oil
2Tbs butter
2 shallots, finely minced
1 cup of pearly barley
1 cup white wine
4 cups of water or stock, simmering in a pot on the stove
1 sprig of fresh thyme or 1 tsp. dried
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil
sage leaves- optional

•Heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss the squash with one tablespoon of the olive oil and bake in a single layer for 15-20 minutes. The squash should be tender but not too browned or it will change the color of the risotto.

•Heat the remain tablespoon of oil and the butter in a saute pan. Add the shallots and cook till they are soft and begin to look translucent.

•Add the barley to the pan and stir to coat all the grains in the warm fat. Cook, stirring continuously, for about five minutes.

•Add the roasted squash to the pan of barley and mash it down with the stirring spoon to mix it thoroughly. You can continue to mash the squash as the dish cooks.

•Add the wine and the thyme and stir to combine. When the liquid has mostly cooked away begin to add the simmering water or stock, by the ladleful, stirring with each addition and letting the liquid cook away before adding the next ladleful.

I tried this Gavi in the recipe and served it with the dish.
An Italian wine with dominant citrus notes, it brought
a complimentary flavor to the sweet-ish risotto.

•The barley will absorb at least two cups of liquid before you start to notice the grains beginning to swell a bit. Be patient. Continue to cook in this manor, adding more liquid when the pan gets dry.

•Continue to stir and mash down any lumpy bits of squash as you go.

•Taste the grains periodically for done-ness. They grains will remain firm but have an al dente finish with a pleasant chewy bite.

•To serve, sprinkle the "risotto" with the grated cheese and a generous drizzle of good quality olive oil and top with the sage leaves.

A Gourmet beginning

Deborah
The news of Gourmet magazine's closing hit me like the loss of an old friend I haven't seen in years. Memories of our time together came flooding back, along with a certain chagrin that I hadn't kept in touch. Having moved on to other sources for culinary information and inspiration years ago, Gourmet magazine was now a source of nostalgia, profound nostalgia as it turns out.

I first encountered the magazine as a young 11 year old girl at my mother's side. My mother was a young girl herself at that time. At age 29, she was a new bride beginning a second marriage with three children from a previous marriage in tow. My mother's cooking at that point was simple and serviceable, with specialties being spaghetti and meatballs and meatloaf. Her new husband was European and so our mother decided that we needed to learn how to cook more sophisticated food for him, to sweeten the domestic pot as it were. He was, in fact, Scottish and his culinary viewpoint was even more narrow than our own, but we did not know that then. He resembled George Harrison, had a cool accent and was putting up with three kids, so impress him we must.

My mother embarked on her subscription to Gourmet magazine and each month would pass the issue around to my younger sister and I to mark off recipes we wanted to try. My mother had no qualms about setting us youngsters up at the stove and the results were staggering. We were making fancy, delicious dishes out of what seemed to us piles of unrelated ingredients. Following the instructions as closely as chemistry lab experiments we tried out our first gazpacho, our first curries, our first cassoulet. Culinary courage and curiosity exploded in our home as we poured over the beautiful pages that represented exotic sophistication to our young inexperienced selves.

As the years went by and my family grew, my brothers were also drawn into the kitchen. We became known to our extended family and friends as the cooking family. No occasion was lost for a group cook-a-thon with way too many of us in the kitchen, but fortunately no spoiled broth. My mother continued her subscription throughout her life and as an adult I would look forward to curling up with copies of the latest issues when visiting her and my step-father for weekends in Sag Harbor. My mother died way too young at age 65 in 2003 and now Gourmet is gone. I will always have them linked in my mind. And I am grateful for the culinary push they both gave me.

A prize specimen from my local nursery in Forest Hills, Queens.  Cinderella would be proud to ride around in this!


In the spirit of culinary adventure I thought of this soup which can be made from any of the winter squashes including pumpkin. The most recent version I made was with acorn squash. I like to roast the squash first to really intensify the flavor and get some caramelization going. Winter squashes tend to be sweet and can handle a lot of strong flavors as a counter balance. So don't fear the cayenne. It will give the soup some integrity. The addition of the apple brings some tart, acidic sweetness to the mix and is a trick my mother picked up from reading Gourmet.

Chili peppers are the spice of life!

Acorn Squash Soup with Ginger and Coconut milk
1 Acorn squash, peeled and chopped into large cubes
1 green apple, peeled and chopped
2 inch piece of peeled ginger
4 cloves of peeled garlic
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 teas. salt
1 onion, chopped
3 cups vegetable or chicken stock or water
1 cup coconut milk
1 tsp. cayenne pepper

Butternut squash makes great soup too.

Preheat oven to 400 F
Lay the acorn squash and the apples in a single layer on a large roasting pan. Sprinkle with a little s & p and roast in the oven for 20 minutes until the squash begins to soften and brown a little bit.

If you have a mortar and pestle pound the ginger and garlic into a paste. If you don't have one, put them in a food processor with a tablespoon of water to blend into paste.
Heat the oil in a large sauce pan and add the ginger-garlic paste. Cook over a medium low heat until the paste begins to slowly turn a golden color, about 2 minutes. Add the onions and salt and cook till softened and translucent, about 5 minutes more. Add the roasted squash and apples and the stock or water and bring to a simmer. Let the pot simmer for 25- 20 minutes until squash is completely tender when poked with a fork.
Turn off heat and allow soup to cool for a bit before adding to a blender or food processor (try to wait because hot food really expands and splashes out when blended). Blend until very smooth. Pour soup back into the pot and TASTE IT.
At this point you want to adjust the seasonings. If it is too bland, add a little salt and/or sugar ( a pinch at a time, keep tasting). Once the flavor tastes balanced to you add the coconut milk and the cayenne and bring the soup up to a simmer. Let soup simmer for 5 minutes till all the flavors are blended and the soup is warm enough to serve.

enjoy!

Amanda
Beautiful commentary on Gourmet magazine, Deb. I loved the magazine as well, but it obviously holds a much deeper connection for you. I always referred to the magazine around the holidays - no magazine could compete with their Thanksgiving issue!