Recipe of the Week: Crimini Mushroom & Tarragon Risotto

I was gonna make the yummy-looking mushroom risotto recipe that Fairygirl posted last week, but decided to play around a little and came up with my own. It turned out really well; yet another keeper!

I'm particularly happy to have found a great way to eat acorn squash raw - something I've been meaning to try for months. It's a bit of hard work, due to the acorn's uneven shape, but was well worth the effort. If you don't feel up for it, butternut would probably work good too.


Mushroom & Tarragon Risotto

Serves 4

Risotto
1/2 large acorn squash, peeled and roughly cubed

Marinated Criminis
2 cups crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs tamari
2 tsps lemon juice

Creamy Tarragon Sauce
1/3 cup cashews
1/3 cup macadamias
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup water
1 large garlic clove
2 tbs lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
Pinch cayenne
-
1 tbs dried tarragon

For Serving
2/3 cup red, orange or yellow bell pepper, cubed
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
2 green onions, chopped (optional)


For the risotto, grind squash in food processor until rice-like. Set aside in large bowl.

For the marinated criminis, toss the mushrooms in olive oil, tamari and lemon juice, and let marinate for at least 1 hr.

For the sauce, blend first 8 ingredients until smooth, then add tarragon, bell pepper and parsley by hand.

To assemble, mix the risotto with the marinated mushrooms, Creamy Tarragon Sauce, bell peppers, parsley and green onion (if using).

Variation:
~ I had some left-over Tarragon Sauce so I served it the next day on top of zucchini linguine, along with the other veggies. It was also delicious.