Goat Cheese Risotto with Yellow Squash and Zucchini

It’s Wednesday night, and if all goes well, this post will go live on Friday. I’m leaving for San Diego early tomorrow morning for another work conference and thought I’d see how the scheduled post function works! Hopefully by the time you’re reading this, I’ll be all done with my talk and relaxing by the pool! I’m very excited that I’ll get to see two of my very good friends who live in San Diego, and of course, I’m already looking forward to our meals together at their favorite restaurants. I’m not even entirely dreading the long flight because I know I’ll be fairly well entertained between the TVs on JetBlue and the two new foodie books I got from the library (Spiced and The Omnivore’s Dilemma).

I’ve been meaning to post this risotto recipe for awhile now. My hubby said it was one of the best dishes I’ve ever made! We have a little rating system for my blog. Both my hubby and I give every recipe a score, and only those that receive an 8 or above from both of us are posted. And believe me, he’s a tough critic! There are several recipes that he’s given a 5 or 6 that I’ve had to go back and rework before posting. Sometimes he’ll tell me specific ingredients he thinks should be added or subtracted (“mushrooms, it needs mushrooms” or “way too much lime juice”) and sometimes his comments are more general and less helpful (“it’s ok, but nothing special”). I love his honest feedback though, and I think he truly enjoys being quality control. He gave this risotto a 9.5, which is very high for him. This is the kind of dish that we fight over who gets to take the leftovers to work. My favorite part is that it tastes completely indulgent and bad for you, but really isn’t too naughty.

I’ve professed my love of goat cheese before, and knew it would be lovely in a creamy risotto. I added a base layer of flavor with shallots and garlic, and then stuffed it full of zucchini and yellow squash. It’s the perfect summer risotto, and one that I’ll definitely be making again. Ok, off to pack!

Goat Cheese Risotto with Yellow Squash and Zucchini
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 yellow squashes, chopped
2 zucchinis, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup chopped shallots
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup Arborio rice
4 cups chicken stock
4 ounces goat cheese
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pan and sauté squash and zucchini until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, melt butter over medium-high heat in a large stockpot. Sauté the shallots for 5 to 7 minutes or until tender; add garlic and sauté for an additional minute. Add the rice and stir until well-coated and translucent. Reduce heat to medium and stir in 1 cup of chicken stock. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the stock has been absorbed; add another cup and continue in this way until all the chicken stock has been absorbed, for about 30 minutes. Stir in the goat cheese and salt and simmer an additional 5 minutes or until desired consistency is reached. Stir in squash and zucchini. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition: 355 calories, 13g fat, 2.9g fiber, 11.9g protein per serving
Cost: $2.64 per serving