Rocket and butternut squash risotto (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

Rocket and butternut squash risotto

9:40am Thursday 16th March 2006 in

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FORGET jars of jam and coffee cake at the local church fete for nearly a century the Women's Institute has enjoyed an unsurpassed reputation for delicious home cooking that is second to none.

Written by members of the WI, women who know all about great cooking for family and friends from personal experience, The Big Book Of Best-Kept Secrets Of The Women's Institute is a bumper volume of their best recipes, arranged by season to provide inspiration throughout the year.

Judith Hannam, contributing author, said: "Food should be a joy, a pleasure to be shared.

"The tasty, user-friendly recipes collected here are guaranteed to tempt you to sample the delights and flavours of home-made food.

"The book includes delicious soups made from the simplest ingredients, fast suppers that are ideal to enjoy during the week, simple weekend lunches for family and friends, hearty traditional fare for the cold winter months, as well as lighter dishes that take their inspiration from the Continent."

And there's plenty to indulge in as well including a twist on those traditional preserves and some great cakes.

She said: "Many people claim not to eat puddings, yet very few when confronted with a mouth-watering dessert, can resist it."

Treat your family to one of their mouth-watering spring recipes.

* The Big Book Of Best-Kept Secrets Of The Women's Institute is published by Simon & Schuster, priced £20.

Rocket and butternut squash risotto

Ingredients (serves four)

1 butternut squash, weighing about 1kg (2 1/4lb), peeled, seeds removed and cut into bite-sized pieces; 1 tbsp olive oil; freshly ground black pepper.

For the risotto 50g (2oz) butter; 1tbsp olive oil; 350g (12oz) risotto rice; 1 garlic clove, crushed; 1 litre (1 3/4pt) hot vegetable stock; 3tbsp sherry; 1tsp tomato puree; 1 bay leaf; 50g (2oz) grated Parmesan cheese; 115g (4oz) rocket and 1tbsp pine nut kernels, toasted.

Method

Preheat the oven to gas mark 7/electric oven 220C/fan oven 200C.

In a roasting tin, toss the squash with the olive oil and season with freshly ground black pepper. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, turning the chunks of squash over halfway through.

Meanwhile, heat 25g (1oz) of the butter with the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan. Stir in the rice and garlic and cook for two to three minutes, until the rice is transparent.

Gradually add a little of the hot stock, plus the sherry, tomato puree and bay leaf. Allow the rice to absorb the liquid before pouring in some more stock, a ladleful at a time.

Simmer, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes, until the rice is tender and most of the stock has been used. Stir occasionally. Remove the bay leaf. Stir in the remaining butter, most of the grated Parmesan and the rocket. Season.

Spoon the risotto on to serving plates. Scatter the roasted butternut squash on top and sprinkle with toasted pine nut kernels and the remaining Parmesan.

For the vegetable stock

Ingredients

1.1 litres (2pt) cold water; 1 small lemon, scrubbed and chopped roughly; 1 thick stalk of celery, chopped; 2 carrots, chopped; 1 onion, chopped; 5ml (1tsp) peppercorns; fresh herbs, eg parsley stalks, small bay leaf and sprig of thyme and 1 small garlic clove, sliced.

Method

Put everything into a large pan. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and leave to simmer for about 30 to 40 minutes. Any scum which rises should be skimmed off and discarded. A large spoon pulled at an angle across the surface will do it.

Leave the lid of the pan at an angle. This prevents the stock from boiling over and also helps to reduce the volume and increase the flavour.

Strain stock through a fine sieve and taste it. You may wish to simmer it further to strengthen the flavour. Simmer in an open pan until you are happy with the taste.