Winter Squash Risotto

Risotto has pretty much become a staple in our house, right up there with tacos, quesadillas, and biscuits and gravy.  It serves as a pretty good mac and cheese replacement, which I would eat nearly every week if I lived by myself.  Risotto takes way longer to make and probably isn't much healthier, but I feel more like an adult while still getting to enjoy the rich and creamy taste and texture. 

I had made risotto with summer squash before (zucchini and pattypan), but this time I used an assortment of winter squash from the CSA (red kuri and acorn) and this recipe.   

I have found out the hard way that winter squash is surprisingly difficult to peel and chop.  Before ever cooking with it, I assumed it was relatively soft because cooked squash is soft and mushy, and summer squash is extremely easy to peel and chop.  I learned that using a vegetable peeler works really well to remove the rind on types of squash that have a smooth exterior (not so much on types like acorn squash that have big grooves all around).

I have also found that our oven needs to roast the squash longer than most recipes call for.  The more roasted the squash is the more caramelized, rich, and delicious it will become.  I could have roasted this batch for 15+ more minutes and it would have been much more flavorful. 

Instead of canned chicken stock we picked up some chicken base from the bulk bins at Winco.  You just mix it with water to form a stock-like substance.  I used too much base for how much water was needed, which made the finished dish a little too salty.  I attempted to compensate for the saltiness with extra lemon, which HH thought made it a bit too lemony. 

Previously, I had made a batch from the same recipe which turned out better but I failed to take any photos.  The differences were that I roasted the squash for longer and used canned broth, so if when I make this again I will make sure to revert back to the old way.