[gallery ids="11177"] When you live in a town like Dixon your restaurant options are seriously limited; fortunately for us there is the Firehouse Bistro downtown. The owners, John and Leslie, do the cooking, greet customers and work with their staff serving, so it is really easy to get to know them. We started bringing them strawberries and tomatoes. Now they get a box each week, plus crates of whatever we have in abundance and we trade produce for meals. They make yummy food and we have a fantastic place to eat, a perfect situation. This past Friday Nigel and I were in for their tapas night and one of the dishes we had was this risotto recipe made with our butternut squash. It was so good we had two orders and I probably could have eaten more! Made it tonight and it is absolutely fantastic! I added the greens and our leeks to utilize more items from this week’s box. The next time you are up this way, maybe on your way to Tahoe on a Friday night, take a break from the traffic and have a great meal. They are open for dinner 6 to 9 Friday and Saturday nights, brunch on Saturday and Sunday until 1, lunches Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Bon Appetit! - Lorraine
Butternut Squash Risotto 1 Butternut Squash pre-roast at 375 about 10 minutes to soften, makes it easier to slice 1 to 2 Leeks washed well - chopped - green tops discarded 4 Tbs Oil 4 Tbs Butter 1 1/2 cups Arborio Rice 8 cups washed greens I used spinach and tat soi, but the stir fry greens would be terrific 1 tsp plain Salt Pepper fresh ground to taste 1 tsp Eatwell Farm Chili Salt 1 qt Eatwell Farm Chicken Stock 1 cup water 1/2 cup White Wine 1/4 cup Cream Parmesan freshly grated to taste
Patience is a key ingredient with Risotto, so take your time adding the stock letting the rice absorb the liquid before adding more. Your patience will be rewarded. Pre-roast squash about 10 minutes, allow to cool a bit before handling. Peel, cut in half, seed and then dice to about 1/2” cubes. Put the squash in a mixing bowl pour about 2 Tbs of the oil and sprinkle with Eatwell chili salt, mix well. Pour onto a baking sheet, roast at 375 for 10 minutes, then turn the squash over and roast another 10 minutes. Melt the butter with the remaining oil in a heavy bottomed pot. Add the leeks, sauté a couple of minutes then add the arborio rice, cooking the rice until it starts to turn golden. In a separate saucepan heat the stock,salt and the chopped greens. Once the rice is golden start adding the stock/greens one ladle at a time to the rice. Stirring frequently, wait to add more after most of the liquid has been absorbed. Repeat until all the stock has been added. Add wine, cream, roasted squash, mix well then grate in some fresh parmesan and a sprinkling of pepper and serve! You can enjoy it as a side or all on its own. Serves 4 as a main and 6 as a side.