inspired by Daphne’s

In the fall of 1999 I spent a week in London with my parents; it was a wonderful trip.  On our last day we went for lunch at what we thought was just a neighbourhood Italian restaurant – turned out to be one of the BEST restaurants in the city, Daphne’s, and our lunch was out of this world.  My father later confessed that the bill for lunch was more than the bill for his and my mother’s stay at their bed and breakfast for teh entire week, but that it was TOTALLY worth it.

As a souvenir I bought the cookbook and have been enjoying recipes out of it ever since.  Tonight’s dinner of butternut squash risotto, arugula and pear salad, and tiramisu was inspired by that lunch.  Easy, seasonal and delicious – enjoy!

1 butternut squash – peel, dice, toss in olive oil & garli, salt & pepper and roast at 450 for 45 minutes

Risotto

2 shallots
2 garlic cloves
4 tables spoons (about) olive oil
6 to 8 fresh sage leaves
salt & pepper to taste
1 cup arborio rice
2 cups chicken stock – heated
fresh ground nutmeg – 1/2 tsp or so
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup freshly ground Parmesan cheese

sautee olive oil, shallots & garlic until translucent

add salt & pepper

stir in rice, totally coating and sautee for another 2 minutes or so

add stock to the rice a ladle at a time until all liquid is absorbed – about 20 minutes, stirring CONSTANTLY

gently stir in roasted squash

stir in butter, I tablespoon at a time

add cheese

serve HOT and enjoy!

peel, dice, toss in olive oil, garlic, fresh sage, salt & pepper and raost at 450 for 45 minutes

roasted squash ready for the risotto

sautee shallots, garlic, sage and salt & pepper until translucent - add arborio rice

when liquid is absorbed, gently stir squash in to the rice

 

add Parmesan cheese and butter, stir until creamy

serve hot and ENJOY!

 

We paired the risotto with a slightly unconventional wine choice, a 2006 Private Reserve Syrah from Peller Estates ($19.99 at all VQA stores in BC) but it was a perfect match.

Tomorrow we’ll post the tiramisu – it was heaven