Spring Risotto, albeit with "winter" squash

On November 6th of last year, we picked up a beautiful speciman from the pumpkin family from a farmer attending the last "summer" farmers' market in Portsmouth.  Intended to be eaten at some point, it was just too beautiful to hack into with my 8" chef's knife.  Needless to say, up until 15 hours ago it had been sitting on the counter as a reminder of all things fall and winter.  And, yes, you read that right: November 6, 2010.

Musquee de Province (if I remember correctly) is the name of this winter squash.  It is delicious - do seek it out this fall!

We were so pleased at how gorgeous and succulent its flesh was when I cut into it.  For 5-1/2 months this baby sat on our counter, ogled over by friends and family alike who thought for sure the farmer's claim that it would last "for months" was erroneous.  His wasn't. Theirs was!

What inspired its use in last night's dinner?  A search through an old favorite cookbook (Moosewood's Low-Fat Favorites) as I tried to find inspiration for something besides a bowl of cereal for dinner.  Hubby and I were very pleased I did so!  While the recipe does hint of a cold winter night's meal, it actually was very chilly yesterday (dropped into the 20's last night!!).  And with Riverside Farm producing gorgeous Swiss chard, how was I supposed to turn the page for 'Squash and Kale' risotto?

For the recipe:

Saute a cup of finely chopped onion in butter or oil.  I used canola oil from Maine Natural.

Once softened, add 1-1/2c arborio rice, stirring to coat evenly.  Add a 1/2c of white wine (leftover Cayuga from Jewel Town Vineyard was perfect), stirring until absorbed.

Ladle 2c of homwmade veg or chicken stock into rice, stirring until mostly absorbed.    Add an additional 1/2 c stock and 3c large diced squash, stirring until liquid is absorbed.  Follow with more stock (up to another 2 cups total, 1/2c at a time).  Before the final cup of liquid, add a bunch of chopped chard greens and stems (or any other greens you may have, such as spinach).  After a final addition of stock, turn off heat and add some grated nutmeg, lemon zest and cheese.  I used leftover quark and cheddar that we picked up at our most recent farmers' market.

Check for seasoning, and you're done!  Finished product should be super creamy and al dente.  And while stirring is key, this is not a complicated meal.  It took no longer than 30 minutes to pull this together!