Risotto cooked in Spumante with summer squash, zucchini and basil

Buongiorno.
I know. You are also happy it's summer. Even in San Francisco, where the sun is as elusive as a sane ad on Craigslist's personals. But it is and those summer squash looked amazing this weekend. How could I resist?
This recipe is based on my Risotto. Start Here. post so use that as a guideline. As always, if you make it let me know how you liked it.

Ingredients:

All the ingredients from the Risotto. Start Here. post plus:

2 Tbs butter or Extra Virgin olive oil

3/4 lb. zucchini, diced

3/4 lb. summer squash, diced

2 cups of Italian Spumante or California sparkling wine.
Warm, NOT out of the fridge.

1 cup of basil leaves

1/4 cup of heavy cream (optional)


How do I do it?
You make the standard risotto recipe, but when you are cooking the onion at the beginning you also add the extra butter and the diced vegetables. When you are supposed to add the wine use 3/4 of a cup of the Spumante instead.
Half-way through the cooking use the remaining spumante to cook the rice as you would use the broth. It will impart a sweet and tangy flavor to the risotto, complemented by the zucchini and the squash and offset by the basil at the end.
Only when the risotto is cooked you add the basil as a garnish or tossed in right before serving. The oils from basil are very sensitive to heat. If you cook them too much, they will lose their aroma very quickly.

If you are using the squash in the photo, before dicing them slice their very top off and use it as a garnish. Even the eye gets its fill.
Have a fantastic dinner and serve with the remaining Spumante or sparkling wine.

A presto,
Marco Flavio

Comments

[Bakie L]

Last night I had told several people that I was getting up early to go to the Alemany Farmer's Market. I was meeting a guy from Craigslist.org and was going to learn about food. Needless to say I woke up late. I hurried over found parking and asked the first dude I saw who looked like he was explaining something to people if he was Marco. "No." oops, next. I walked some more and thought about how to make the best of this morning even if I didn't run into Marco. After passing some tempting tamale's I continued my search. In front of a organic veggie stand this guy is holding 3 different bags and laughing with two women...I was like hey that's gotta be the guy. "Excuse me...Hey you Marco? I don't meant to interrupt folks." "Yeah you Bakie?" "Yeah, great! I was late man." I'm all about being honest and I was late. Marco however is all about food. I was watching a fish swim in water with guy in the market buying stuff. So I took on the attitude of a student and learned something about organic food. Right on! I walked, talked, got food, coffee and took off for work. What was he planning on cooking? I don't know. Why not ask him yourself, share a recipe and share in great company and food?
In conclusions tamales with habanero & chipotle salsa = Hella Good.
Peace- Bakie