Winter Squash Alfredo for an Autumn's Day

Creamy Winter Squash or Pumpkin Alfredo 

This time of the year when the weather has turned and turned a tad early it seems, most of us start to think of comfort foods that are heartier than the summer fare of veggie salads and light summer fare. I must say I hate to see those warm summer days and the parade of garden veggies pass on into a fading memory that won't return until three more seasons have passed, but comfort food is here to stay for awhile. 

Autumn around our place, Bella Baita

We have been putting the garden to bed, but still have a fair amount of things to eat and put up to keep us and our volunteer helpers busy.  The weather is changeable and so we change up our work from outside to in and back again as the season dictates. We so appreciate their help and its always interesting to meet new people. 

Fabrizio and David with an autumn haul form the garden. 

And so with the harvesting of quite a few winter squash I have been busy making all the usual dishes in my repertoire of squash recipes. Every season I try to add a new or few new ones on. This season I came across a video for one pot creamy squash alfredo that I liked, but naturally just had to tweak to my taste.  I seem to keep inheriting more squash from other peoples bounty of winter squash as well, (Thank you cousin Giorgio!), so this recipe helps keep the bounty of squash in check. 

Give this recipe a whirl, and maybe put your own touches in it as you see fit and enjoy a delisciously creamy pasta without any cream. 

The elements and finished pasta dish

Winter Squash Alfredo

Serves 4 ish

Ingredients:

2 T butter
2 T olive oil, I've made it with all oil and slightly less fat in general also

1 cup diced onion, I like red onions

1 T fresh rosemary, chopped, or you can use just the rosemary

1 T fresh sage, chopped

3 cups butternut squash, (1 1/2 lb / 800g) or any other winter squash that you have

1 cup vegetable stock

Cook 15 minutes

Smash the squash with a smasher till smoothish but still with some texture

1 cups milk, or stock if you prefer, 

1 cup Parmigiano  cheese

a bit of nutmeg, grated fresh into the mixture

4oo g fettucine, (generous 5 oz) I used our home made tagliatelle, a mix of spinach and plain egg

Method:

In a large deep skillet or saucepan, heat the oil and butter and add the onion. Saute´ the onions till they soften. Add the herbs and squash and continue to saute´ for a few minutes before adding the vegetable stock and cooking for about 15 minutes till the squash is soft and cooked through.
Meanwhile start to boil salted water for your pasta.
Cook the pasta till still firm, a bit more than al dente
Smash the mixture with a potato smasher.
Add the milk or veggie stock to make a loose sauce and continue to cook the sauce till it reduces to your desired creaminess. You can use more or less to get the sauce as you like it.
Stir in the parmesan and season with salt and pepper.
When the  pasta is cooked, drain and mix into the sauce.
Adjust season and serve. 

Baked Pumpkin and Brussels Sprouts Rigatoni

This time of the year I find I am drawn to write more about recipes as I spend more time at home trying out new recipes that there never seems to be enough time for in the summer. I also find that many recipes are predicated by what's on hand or what is begging to  be used up. The garden provides a fair amount of winter veggies in such abundance that new recipes are definitely in order. Back in the autumn when I saw this recipe on one of my favorite TV cooking programs,  for what seems to me to be an adult version of macaroni and cheese, I knew I was in. I just happened to have an excess of pumpkin and this years crop of Brussels sprouts was abundant, which just happened to be two of the main ingredients of this pasta al forno, which is what oven baked pasta is called here. 

I do like creamy cheesy baked pasta, but  the thought of replacing some of the cheese with pumpkin or winter squash for a creamy and rich sauce that's not too much. This version is a tad lighter yet satisfyingly scrummy. I find this is a great way to use up odds and ends of cheeses and different varieties of pumpkin or squash. Its just good if you have a soft disintegrating variety of pumpkin and one that holds its shape, for added interest in this mix. Caciocavallo cheese is very much like provolone and yet I found other cheeses work quite well also. So if you don't have  the exact ingredients, don't hesitate to sub something that you prefer or have on hand. That's most of us do anyway, so feel free to use this as a framework for making a comforting pan of cheesy pasta and vegetables. I am sure you will agree. 

Mix and adjust the pasta to your taste

The pumpkin seeds add a great dimension of texture and flavor

Baked Rigatoni with Winter Squash and Brussels Sprouts 

Serves 6

Ingredients:

10 oz / 300 g pumpkin Kabocha or other meaty winter squash, cut into cubes 1 leek, cut into slices

2 bay leaves

3 T olive oil, extra virgin

1 3⁄4 c / 400 ml milk

10 oz / 300 g pumpkin Delicata, cut into pieces

4 T pumpkin seeds, divided in half

3.5 oz /100 g parmesan, grated

10 oz / 300 g cacio bucato or caciocavallo or provolone or whatever cheese you would like

7-8 oz / 200g ish Brussels sprouts, trimmed, washed and cut in half. 1# / 500 g of rigatoni

Pumpkin oil

salt

Method:

Place two tablespoons of olive oil and leek, in a saucepan.

Saute` slightly and then add the Delicata pumpkin pieces and season with some salt. Cover and cook over low heat, until the pumpkin is soft.

In another saucepan, place the pumpkin pieces with milk, half of pumpkin seeds, salt and bay leaf, Simmer for about 12 minutes on medium heat until the pumpkin is soft.

Remove from heat and keep warm.

Mix with an immersion blender, ( I would do this after the pasta is done)

Stir in half the cheese and half the grated parmesan.

Cook the pasta in salted water, I cooked about halfway before adding the brussel sprouts.

The original recipe add them together at the same time. I just preferred the sprouts to not be overcooked.

to which will be added also sprouts

Drain the pasta al dente, Toss the pasta and sprouts in a bowl with the the pumpkin cream.

Add the pumpkin stew and a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

Mix well.

Place it in a 9x13 baking pan (I lined the pan with parchment paper )brushed with pumpkin oil. Top the pasta with the grated cheese and sprinkle the other pumpkin seeds

Bake at 375* -400*F (200 °C ) till bubbly and top has browned.

Adult Mac and CheeseDon't you just love the crispy bits on top? I do.

Almost 6 Feet Under and Marmelatta di Zucca

They say it was over 1.6 meters in 24 hours, that's 5 ft or a bit more.
It cleared briefly last night but there is more snow on the way.

Our entrance to our flat.


In the neighborhood

Digging his way to to get the chickens

Disappearing chicken coop

The road beyond us toward the garden.

Another Val Chisone extreme weather event.
2 years ago we didn't have any snow or winter and the spring arrived almost a month early. This year we had a fairly normal winter and then we had a very soggy late spring and everything has been arriving very late this year. Now we have a very early winter with record snow.
Latest update. Now it's raining on top of our 6 ft of snow. The rivers are overflowing and they are watching the Po in Torino and all the way down to Rome, where it has been raining non stop whilst we were getting snow. Strange days indeed

So nothing left to do make Pumpkin Jam or Marmellata di Zucca.
Once done, slather some on your favorite tea biscuit or do like Fabrizio's grandmother, and make a sandwich of Pavesini biscotti and dunk them in for tea, or for a more grown up addition, vin santo, marsala or something along those lines.
I actually double this recipe as we have quite a bit of pumpkin and the moment and it made a delicious crostata filling.

Marmellata di Zucca

• 500 g (1+pound) pumpkin or butternut type of solid squash, cut up in medium pieces

• 200 g(1 cup) sugar
  

• zest of one lemon

Other optional additions

• 50 g (1/2 c) toasted walnuts or pecans

• 100 g sultanas or dry cranberries softened in a splash of warm cognac,
  
• Vecchia Romagna, comes to mind

Combine the sugar, lemon zest and pumpkin in a large heavy bottom sauce pan. Gently simmer until soft. I usually smash the mixture after it starts to soften to encourage to break down and cook a little faster. Stir occasionally. Add additional ingredients just before the mixture is done.
Cool completely before storing in the refrigerator.
I never bother to jar it as it usually gets used up rather quickly.

Thankfulness and Risotto di Zucca

Today is an "over the top" feeding frenzy in the states. I can't say I miss the overindulged feeling after the grand feast, but I must say that I miss the warm cozy get together with friends and family and reflections on all the many blessings that we sometimes forget to verbalize. I am grateful for all the magnificent feasts for holidays, birthdays, weddings and simple gatherings of friends gathering together "potluck" style that rumble around in the memory of loved ones once so close and now separated by the miles and the years. Happy that Fabrizio's parents are still healthy and living next door. Grateful for all the guests that have not only stayed with us here at Bella Baita, grateful that they have become friends and part of the family over these past few years. What a wonderful opportunity to meet new people, have them choose to spend their holidays with us, share meals, laughs, stories and anecdotes on their travels here and hopefuly have a better understand and appreciation for this part of the world. When it's all said and done, we call this work. It's a labor of love and it's oh, so satisfying. I'm grateful for the opportunity to cook and bake almost every single day and share that passion with eager eaters. Even if we don't have guests there is still my eager eater Fabrizio and that is truly a joy to share our meals as well as our lives together. And now, I'm really grateful for all the interesting people that have found their way into my view here at Bella Baita. What a journey of discovery in this virtual world that brings people to your doorstep that would have never found their way other wise and by the same token, has taken me into the kitchen and lives of people bumping by on our way around the blogosphere. I'm extremely grateful for high speed internet connection up here in the mountains for bringing the wonders of the world closer to home at the click of a mouse. So, while American are enjoying roast turkey and copious amounts of everything else, a lot of Italians will be watching the lastest installment of the serialization of "Il Capo dei Capi". The story of mafia don "Toto Riina"and his close friend and partner for many years, Bernardo Provenzano, both of Corleone, Sicily. "Toto" allegedly was turned in so Bernardo, could take over the territory and title, "Boss of Bosses"and eluded capture for 43 years till 2006. Their story has been brought to the small screen to the extreme fascination of the whole of Italy. It is a riveting, glamorized, bloody account of Italian mafia history and something that I'm thankful for that I didn't have to live through in my life. It still is a nightmare for many people today.
Anyway, even though we're not making a Thanksgiving meal, I got to thinking about the traditional use of winter squash and pumpkin, that sees its use spike this time of the year, and thought I might add a suggestion to your winter squash repertoire, risotto di zucca. This is a perennial favorite up here in Piedmont where some of the best arborio and carnaroli rice
is grown and makes wonderfully creamy risotto without a lot of additions. The Po river valley is an abundant producer for the rest of Italy with our favorite grains of rice, corn and wheat found and used religiously here. The addition of some cubes of your favorite winter squash to the traditional Piemontese risotto, which keeps it simple with onion, garlic, rice, and white wine cooked very al dente (much more than most Americans are use to) and finished with a pat of butter and a generous grating of fresh Parmigiano and black pepper, served immediately. Risotto makes for a very comforting dish on a cold blustery day? Using a good quality risotto rice sauted in decent olive oil, you will find that you relly don't need to use the butter as it is quite creamy on it's own. I like to sometimes add a fresh grate or two of lemon peel on top, to intensify the squashes flavor for a bit of a subtle zing. this recipe is easily adjusted up to serve more.

Risotto di Zucca

serves 2 generous portions

1 clove garlic minced
1 small onion or 2 shallots
2 cups cubed smallish winter squash, like hubbard or even pumpkin
1 1/2 cups carnaroli or arborio rice (usually 1/2 cup rice per person for a serving in a larger meal)
1/3 cup white wine
1/4 cup olive to saute
1 -1 1/2 liter, very flexible amount vegetable or chicken broth, unsalted if you make your own
if salted, be careful of how much you use as it can sometimes be too salty, use a bit of water instead
Parmigiano to season at the end
2 T of butter to add at the end for added richness, if desired
Salt to taste
fresh grated pepper
grate or two of lemon peel ( optional)

Chop the garlic and onion and squash.
Have your broth at boiling temperature before starting to saute.
Begin to saute the onion in the a couple of T of olive oil over a medium heat.
The key is not to have any of the vegetable or rice to pick up any color, just gently saute.
As the shallots get transparent add the rice and saute for a couple of minutes.
Add the squash cubes and additional oil if it begins to stick to the bottom of the pan
Saute till the rice begins to be a nutty fragrant aroma, being careful not to pick up any color.
When the rice is aromatic , deglaze the pan by adding the white wine.
Cook until all the wine is absorbed before you begin to add the stock
Once all the wine is absorbed, add a generous amount of stock, so it's well covered.
My Italian family, who ran a successful restaurant for years, don't adhere to the little by little amount of stock method. I find their rice delicious and have had good results, so use your own judgement. If uncertain, add a cu at a time and wait, stirring regularly, waiting till the stock is absorbed before adding the next amount. Usually the process from the beginning of the addition of the liquid takes about 16-20 minutes depending on how al dente you like it.
When the rice reaches the proper creaminess and doneness, ie a bit of resistance when you bite into it.
Taste and quickly adjust your seasoning after the addition of any butter or olive oil and serve immediately as they rice will continue to cook in the pot.
You can also add the parmesan now if you find that the rice lacks salt but you don't want to keep adding salt
Serve and garnish steaming rice with freshly grated parm, pepper and lemon peel.