Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto with Cornmeal Encrusted Shrimp

a shameless self-promotion . . .

One of our photos from Italy has been entered in a photo contest.

Our photo is currently number 17 out of 429 photos.

You can vote by clicking here

Remember a 10 is good!

Feel free to e-mail the link to friends and loved ones!

*smile*

---

This is my entry for this week's Weekend Herb Blogging round up. The host for this weeks round up is Vanessa from 'What geeks eat . . .'. The blogging event was started by Kalyn from Kalyn's Kitchen.

WOW

Paul cooks one night a week and while he isn't a confident cook he tends to select recipes which are complex. This is a good example. The risotto is made with roasted butternut squash and fresh thyme. The shrimp is marinated, dredged in cormeal and fried. There were multiple steps and a fair bit of time involved. The taste - WOW!

Did I say that it was amazing?

Did I?

This recipe was orginally from the October 2007 Bon Appetit magazine. The cornmeal-crusted shrimp are a crunchy contrast to the creamy risotto.

Makes 6 first-course servings or 4 main-course servings

1 1 3/4- to 2-pound butternut squash

24 uncooked large shrimp (about 1 1/4 pounds), peeled, deveined
3 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
3 large garlic cloves, peeled, smashed, plus 2 large garlic cloves, chopped

1 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

5 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme, divided
1 1/2 cups arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
1/2 cup dry white wine

Vegetable oil (for frying)

1/2 cup freshly grated P armesan cheese

Preheatoven to 400°F. Pierce squash several times. Place on baking sheet; roast until tender, about 1 hour. Cool. Cut squash in half; discard seeds. Scoop flesh into processor. Puree until smooth. Measure 1 1/2 cups puree (reserve remaining puree for another use). DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.

Place shrimp, 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, and 3 smashed garlic cloves in large resealable plastic bag; turn to coat. Chill 2 to 3 hours, turning bag occasionally.

Stir cornmeal, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in medium bowl. Add shrimp; toss. Arrange in single layer on large plate.

Preheat oven to 200°F. Bring broth to simmer in heavy small saucepan; reduce heat to low and keep hot. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until beginning to brown, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add chopped garlic and 2 teaspoons thyme; stir 1 minute. Add rice and stir 1 minute. Add wine; stir until almost absorbed, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add 1 cup hot broth and cook until almost all liquid is absorbed, stirring often. Continue adding hot broth 1 cup at a time and stirring frequently until rice is almost tender, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, add enough vegetable oil to heavy large skillet to reach depth of 1/4 inch. Heat oil over high heat. Working in 2 batches, fry shrimp until golden brown and cooked through, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Transfer to paper-towel-lined baking sheet and place in oven to keep warm.

Rewarm reserved 1 1/2 cups squash puree in microwave. Add warm puree to risotto and stir until rice is tender but still firm, about 2 minutes. Stir in Parmesan cheese and remaining 2 teaspoons thyme. Season with salt and pepper.

Divide risotto among bowls. Top with shrimp and serve.

One of the defining features of this dish was the thyme - one of my favourite herbs.

Thyme (Thymus) Pronounced ˈtīm also ˈthīm (source - Merriam-Webster & Encyclopedia Britannica) is a genus of about 350 species of aromatic perennial herbaceous plants and sub-shrubs to 40 cm tall, in the family Lamiaceae and native to Europe, North Africa and Asia. A number of species have different chemotypes. The stems tend to be narrow or even wiry; the leaves are evergreen in most species, arranged in opposite pairs, oval, entire, and small, 4-20 mm long. The flowers are in dense terminal heads, with an uneven calyx, with the upper lip three-lobed, and the lower cleft; the corolla is tubular, 4-10 mm long, and white, pink or purple.

Thyme is sold both fresh and dried. The fresh form is more flavourful but also less convenient; storage life is rarely more than a week. While summer-seasonal, fresh thyme is often available year-round.

Fresh thyme is commonly sold in bunches of sprigs. A sprig is a single stem snipped from the plant. It is composed of a woody stem with paired leaf or flower clusters ("leaves") spaced ½ to 1" apart. A recipe may measure thyme by the bunch (or fraction thereof), or by the sprig, or by the tablespoon or teaspoon. If the recipe does not specify fresh or dried, assume that it means fresh.

Depending on how it is used in a dish, the whole sprig may be used (e.g. in a bouquet garni), or the leaves removed and the stems discarded. Usually when a recipe specifies 'bunch' or 'sprig' it means the whole form; when it specifies spoons it means the leaves. It is perfectly acceptable to substitute dried for whole thyme.

Leaves may be removed from stems either by scraping with the back of a knife, or by pulling through the fingers or tines of a fork. Leaves are often chopped.

Thyme retains its flavour on drying better than many other herbs. Dried, and especially powdered thyme occupies less space than fresh, so less of it is required when substituted in a recipe. As a rule of thumb, use one third as much dried as fresh thyme - a little less if it is ground. Substitution is often more complicated than that because recipes can specify sprigs and sprigs can vary in yield of leaves. Assuming a 4" sprig (they are often somewhat longer), estimate that 6 sprigs will yield one tablespoon of leaves. The dried equivalent is 1:3, so substitute 1 teaspoon of dried or ¾ tsp of ground thyme for 6 small sprigs.

As with bay, thyme is slow to release its flavours so it is usually added early in the cooking process.

The essential oil of common thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is made up of 20-55% thymol. Thymol, an antiseptic, is the main active ingredient in Listerine mouthwash. Before the advent of modern antibiotics, it was used to medicate bandages. It has also been shown to be effective against the fungus that commonly infects toenails.

A tea made by infusing the herb in water can be used for cough and bronchitis.Medicinally thyme is used for respiratory infections in the form of a tincture, tisane, salve, syrup or by steam inhalation. Because it is antiseptic, thyme boiled in water and cooled is very effective against inflammation of the throat when gargled 3 times a day.The inflammation will normally disappear in 2 - 5 days. Other infections and wounds can be dripped with thyme that has been boiled in water and cooled.

In traditional Jamaican childbirth practice, thyme tea is given to the mother after delivery of the baby. Its oxytocin-like effect causes uterine contractions and more rapid delivery of the placenta but this was said by Sheila Kitzinger to cause an increased prevalence of retained placenta.

Comments

[Kalyn]

Does sound like a very delicious recipe. Love your tip about Do Ahead! I'm very fond of thyme and have good luck freezing it. The leaves fall off in the freezer, and I hate trying to get them off otherwise, so it's a bonus!

[Jerry]

That is the best way to get at the leaves. For some reason the thyme we've grown this year has huge leaves which just pull off when you run your finger down the stem - I've never had it this easy! LOL

[Laurie Constantino]

I love squash risotto, and the shrimp looks like a wonderful complement for it. All that, and an excellent education on thyme! And I did my duty and voted for your photo with a 10!! (but only because I thought it was a great photo...)

[Jerry]

Thanks Laurie - the risotto has many layers of flavour - the roasted squash and the thymme are quite pronounced. All in all it makes for a great dish.

[Kevin]

Your risotto looks pretty good. The cornmeal crusted shrimp sounds interesting.

[Jerry]

It was great Kevin. I quite enjoyed the crunch of the shrimp however there was no heavy batter. It was a great contrast to the risotto.