How to Cook Acorn Squash
Cooking any kind of vegetables takes patience and a good palate. Acorn squashes can be overcooked or undercooked. Therefore, depending on the time used, the way you cook various squashes is very important whether you marinate it, boil it or roast it.
One thing about boiling any vegetable is that you must always keep in mind to use very little salted water, (except of course for potatoes which start in cold water) and to cook them uncovered, in order to preserve their bright colors. Again, keep in mind not to overcook any vegetable because the firmness needs to stay consistent. Most people don’t like to eat mushy vegetables. I sometimes use a squeeze of lemon juice in the water to preserve its color.
When it comes to cooking these winter squashes, remember they are usually pretty firm so you want to parboil or blanch the vegetable in water regardless of whether you are going to sauté or roast it. The longer you cook any vegetable over high heat, the mushier it gets. Therefore, par-boiling (this means boiling the vegetables for no more than 12-15 minutes prior to cooking it) poke it with a fork and make sure it is still firm. As far as rice, Italians consider it to be an energy food and it’s light and extremely nutritious. There are various types of rice, including semi-fine, super-fine or fine rice and this is all according to the grain. The common variety is usually used for soups. The semi-fine ones are used for antipastos.
Here’s the way to make Acorn Squash Risotto. The ingredients you will need to prepare this are:
Ingredients
3 Acorn Squash (cleaned and par boiled)
6 oz of butter
1 small onion chopped
4 fluid ounces of white ****
4 cup of Chicken broth or 3 bouillon cubes
1 cup grated Parmesan
7 sprigs of fennel greens (chopped)
Fresh ground pepper.
Cooking your Acorn Squash
Place your acorn squash in a pan with 1 tbs. of butter. Add a dash of salt, cover and cook for about 20 minutes on low heat. Once this dries a bit, add another tablespoon of butter. (Put this aside since you will be adding it to the Risotto once it is cooked. Sauté the onion in butter until it’s soft. Add the Risotto (specially bought at a supermarket. This has to be Risotto, it cannot be regular rice) and stir occasionally over low heat.
Add a splash of **** and cook on the stove, constantly stirring and making sure you continue to add the rest of the broth and ****.
After about 15 minutes, remove the rice from the heat and sprinkle the Parmesan liberally over the acorn squash and stir the mixture together. Now you can sit down and eat this delicious meal with a nice glass of Pinot Grigio.