Guest guest Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 Hello everyone, I am really not sure where all my time disappears to but I seem to have neglected you all for ages. Mind you, having an extremely temperamental e-mail program which has more downtime than ‘uptime’ doesn’t help much either. I thought it was time to share another one of my inventions. I am always rather dubious about telling you about the meals I make because I am worried about them seeming too bland. As I have mentioned previously, not only are we vegetarians but we use no alcohol and have quite a long list of things we either can’t eat or have to severely restrict for health reasons. I’m sure that many people wonder if there is anything left that we can actually eat but I assure you that we have an interesting and varied menu. Of course having said that we eat a varied menu this is not the first recipe for butternut squash I have shared with the group. You may perhaps get the impression that I like that particular vegetable. Well, your impression is quite correct – I love it and it adds a nice hint of sweetness to our sugar/sweetener free diets. BUTTERNUT SQUASH, PEA AND FETA RISOTTO (serves 3-4 generously) ** I have included in brackets any ingredients/modifications which I have used specifically to fit in with our restricted diets. I am sure that this dish would taste as good (possibly better!) without these changes. For example, risotto made with brown rice is never as rich and creamy as risotto made with white rice. You may want to add salt but we never use additional salt. In any case this dish already contains salt in the stock cube and the feta (even though I did use low-salt feta). 1 butternut squash – 700 grams/1 ½ pounds 150 gram/5 ounces (brown whole grain) risotto/round grain rice 3 medium onions 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 (vegetarian) beef flavoured stock cube Water (I used approximately 1.5 litres/50fluid ounces but it will vary greatly depending on what sort of rice you use) 50 grams/2 ounces green peas [sometimes I use sultanas instead of peas. The sultanas add extra sweetness but the peas look more colourful]. 150 grams/5 ounces (low salt sheep) feta – cubed Chopped parsley or coriander/cilantro to sprinkle on top when serving – optional. We will be adding coriander/cilantro to our servings A little sambal or other hot pepper sauce stirred through the dish would give it an optional extra ‘bite’ Halve the squash from top to bottom and remove the seeds. There is no need to remove the skin at this stage. Rub each half with a tiny amount of the oil (literally 3-4 drops for each half) and roast in the oven at 200 C/390 F about 20-30 minutes until the flesh is soft. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Peel and chop the onions. Add the remaining oil to a frying pan/skillet together with the onion and the rice. Stir well to make sure that the onion and rice are thoroughly coated with oil. (You may want to use more oil than I did but I have to restrict fats in our diets). Stir until the onion is transparent then add the stock cube and about ½ cup of the water. Stir to mix and watch the pan closely to ensure that it doesn’t dry out or start to burn. As soon as the rice has absorbed most of the water, add another ½ cup of water. Stir the mixture frequently. Repeat adding water until the rice is tender. The mixture should be very moist and almost ‘runny’. Use a spoon to remove the squash from the skin and chop the flesh (the squash flesh, not your own!!!) very roughly When the rice is cooked, add the peas, squash and the feta and stir through. Stir through sambal, if using. Exercise caution if adding hot sauce because if you use too much it will mask the sweetness of the squash. Garnish each serve with parsley or coriander/cilantro, if using. Eet smakelijk (enjoy your meal) Cheers to everyone from Marie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 23, 2007 Report Share Posted May 23, 2007 Another lovely recipe - also added to the Italian file - in the non-spicy folder Thanks a bunch. Hugs! > I thought it was time to share another one of my inventions. I am always > rather dubious about telling you about the meals I make because I am worried > about them seeming too bland. Not at all! We don't all eat spicy at every meal, after all. And we have folders in each category for those which have less spice > As I have mentioned previously, not only are > we vegetarians but we use no alcohol and have quite a long list of things we > either can't eat or have to severely restrict for health reasons. I'm sure > that many people wonder if there is anything left that we can actually eat > but I assure you that we have an interesting and varied menu. So it seems! LOL No need to apologize. I'm sure there are plenty of people here who are taking good care of their health through diet, and some are more restricted in what they eat than you are. For a tiny example, my dh and I both omit eggs and dairy, no longer use alcohol, add no salt to our food (use no-salt-added stock cubes, etc.), and cook without added fat. People seeing any recipes I offer can always add salt, sautee some foods rather than steam, and top with cheese or whatever instead of leaving things plain As for sugar, it is rarely used, although we do have some in the house for some things. A small pack from our organic healthfood shop lasts a looooooong time!!! LOL But we do like to sweeten some things with stevia. It goes great in a Moroccan style peppermint green tea, for example! Love, Pat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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