Break Out The Shrooms. ...No, Not Those.The Meatless Ragu That's a Great Start To A New Year.

   This all started while making a vegetarian chili. I'd seen a great recipe for a quick veg chili in the New York Times and thought that would be perfect for a quick weekday workday lunch or dinner. I was planning on grinding and using the mushrooms for a chili con carne minus the carne sort of thing but I got so involved making a cornbread drop biscuit topping for the chili and I forgot. Yes, I forgot and then it was oh damn!!!!! I opened the fridge door and there were mushrooms staring at me. That's when I thought I'd use them the next day in a different recipe which is exactly what I did.

Here's What You Need:

1 box of pasta (any shape)
2 16 oz cans of chopped tomatoes
Fresh chopped basil
1/2 tsp of dried oregano  or fresh if you have it.
1/4 cup of white wine
1 lb of crimini mushrooms
1 onion
A pinch of red pepper flakes
2 Tbs tomato paste
3 Tbs of olive oil.
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated cheese to taste

Here's What To Do:

Put a pot of lightly salted water on to boil for the pasta.
Place the crimini mushrooms in a food processor a bit at a time and pulse them until they resemble  coarse hamburger texture.
Finely chop the onion.
In a large skillet heat the olive oil
When the oil is hot add in the chopped onion and a pinch of red pepper and some chopped basil and the oregano.
When the onion is translucent  and everything is aromatic, add in you chopped mushroom "hamburger."
Saute it lightly until it darkens a bit.
Now add in the chopped tomatoes and the white wine.
Raise the heat till the tomato mixture starts to simmer, and then let it cook like that for about 20 minutes, until the chopped tomatoes start to break down, and the wine starts to evaporate.

When the sauce has thickened, add in your tomato paste, salt and pepper to taste.
Put your pasta into the water you have boiled and cook it until it's al dente.
When the pasta has cooked, drain it and save the pasta cooking water.
Put the pasta into the mushroom ragu and add in 1/2 cup of pasta water.
Stir everything together and cook until the water has absorbed.
Dish it up and top with some grated cheese.

Meanwhile on the doggo front we are settling in with our new adoptee, Tyrion. Since he is 3 years old and used to that name we're not going to change it. Also, we're #GOT fans so....what can I say. He's definitely making himself at home.

He is not supposed to be on that blanket btw but try telling him that.
he sleeps like a typical Husky.

We bought him another bed for the family room downstairs.

...but he still likes that couch.

So between writing and getting used to the new family member there haven't been as many recipes published. I've been cooking, just not publishing and so now that things are settling down look for more recipes, and follow along on Twitter @kathygori 

Simple, Fast, and Made For Clean Eating: Butternut Squash Risotto.

   Over the last couple of months I've posted quite a few pictures of my incredible butternut squash crop this season. I love this particular vegetable and I've used it in a lot of my Indian recipes over the years.  However, butternut squash is loved by all cuisines, and as I've said before, when the holidays come round and I'm doing entertaining for my Italian family, my mind turns to pastas and risottos, traditional Italian comfort foods.

   My friend Judy Witts Francini aka Divina Cucina is another local Bay Area girl, a San Francisco pastry chef who has been cooking, living, and teaching cooking in Italy for the last 30 years. If you're going to Italy, Judy's the person to get in touch with for classes, culinary tours, and  anything you might want in food and wine. Very often late at night California time and early morning back in Florence, Judy and I text each other and talk food, and Italy. She happens to live in a village outside of Florence and buys her olive oil from Mrs. Gori of  Villa Il Pozzo  one of the Gori ancestral homes.

   Judy always gives me flashbacks of family cooking since I've spent the last 26 years mainly cooking Indian food. When I want a taste of "home cooking" she's always there with a recipe. Judy has given me recipes for things that I haven't seen outside the dining room of my grandparent's old Victorian house on Sacramento Street in San Francisco. Today I'm sharing a risotto recipe that I got from her. It's a quick, easy, recipe that's perfect for weeknight dinners as it can be on the table in about 20 minutes. After all the frantic holiday action we've had around here that's definitely a really good thing. So, without further ado, Butternut Squash Risotto.

Butternut Squash Risotto

 

 Here's What You Need:
1 Butternut squash
1 shallot, or 1 garlic clove thinly sliced
1 small piece of ginger, peeled and minced
1 cup of peeled and cubed  Butternut squash
1 tsp toasted crumbled saffron
1 cup arborio rice
2 cups water
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
salt
Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
balsamic vinegar

Here's What To Do:
Cut the butternut squash into cubes and set it aside.

Thinly slice one shallot, or if you prefer, 1 garlic clove.

Peel and slice a 1 inch piece of ginger and chop it finely.

Set all of it aside.

Measure out 1 cup of arborio rice and a tsp of saffron.
Heat 1 Tbs of olive oil in a pot, swirl it around so that the bottom of the pot is coated in the oil.

When the oil is hot, toss in the ginger and shallot or garlic.

Stir everything around until the shallot or garlic is translucent, and starting to brown.

Add in the toasted crumbled saffron.

Add in the cubed butternut squash.

Stir it around so that it is coated with saffron, ginger, and shallot or garlic.
Add in the arborio rice and stir it around until it is hot to the touch.

Pour 2 cups of water into the mixture in the pot.

Bring it to a boil, then cover the pot, and turn down the heat.

Let everything cook for about 14 minutes. The water should be absorbed by then.
Stir the rice for the first time, then add in about 1/2 cup grated Parmesan...

...and another 1/2 cup of water and start stirring for real. The stirring will give the risotto a creamy texture without actually adding any cream.
Check for salt and add what you feel it needs.
Place it into individual bowls.
And get ready for the balsamic vinegar.

I always use Barrel Aged Balsamic from Sonoma Harvest.
Shave a bit of aged Parmesan over each serving.

Then drizzle a bit of aged balsamic over that.

Serve it up, and Florentine dinner is on the table.

   My ancestors couldn't have enjoyed anything better. Poking around in a bunch of family documents I read about a dinner given by one of the Goris and among the guests was The Sforza Duchess, and some Medicis. I don't know if this was on the table, but it should have been. Coming up next, a return to Indian food, I meet the champagne of Basmati Rice, and more clean eating for a clean New Year! Follow along on Twitter @kathygori