Squash risotto using roasted butternut squash – try this recipe and complete the meal with a tasty matcha tiramisu!

Colorful food pampers the body and mind on gray fall days. Create a splash of color by making golden-yellow squash risotto and emerald-green matcha tiramisu, where Italian and Japanese culinary cultures combine in a surprising way.

NEXT TIME you’re at the grocery store, grab a squash and a packet of risotto rice. The squash gives the risotto an amazing sweet, rich taste as well as a brilliant yellow color and perfect consistency. The easiest way is to prepare the squash purée the day before and store it in the fridge. This way, you can just mix the purée in when making the risotto.

Many recipes suggest pureeing the cooked squash in a blender, but all you need to do is halve the squash and then cut the halves in half. When you first roast the squash with the seed-side up, it caramelizes nicely, and when you turn the squash around and keep roasting it with the skin-side up, the flesh gets cooked by steam and becomes puree. Once you let the squash cool properly, the seeds are easy to remove with a spoon and even the skin comes off.

Since risotto is rich, creamy and smooth, it screams for something tart, crunchy and aromatic.

“The rich risotto screams for something tart and crunchy.”

Flavors that naturally go well with squash include fall apples, which are now in season, as well as crunchy hazelnuts and aromatic, bitter sage. The risotto is easy to complement with these flavors by first frying the sage crisp in olive oil, throwing some crushed hazelnuts in the pan and also sprinkling some on top of the cooked risotto along with thin apple slices.

Even though the combination of Japanese matcha powder and Italian tiramisu may seem odd, it works wonderfully. The aromatic matcha powder replaces the coffee, and the best alcohol for the recipe is the almond-flavored Amaretto liqueur.

“The combination of Japanese matcha powder and Italian tiramisu works wonderfully.”

Matcha powder has the same bitter yet peasant taste as dark cocoa and provides a nice contrast to the sweet, whipped mascarpone. Matcha powder is sold in tea shops, ethnic supermarkets and online.

Recipes for squash risotto and matcha tiramisu:

Squash risotto

Ingredients for four servings:
400 g cooked butternut squash (about 1 kg uncooked)
4 dl risotto rice
3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
½ tsp salt
2 cloves garlic
200 ml dry white wine
1 l high-quality vegetable stock
50 g butter
Few handfuls of parmesan

Apple, sage and hazelnuts

Ingredients:
1 large, tart apple (or a couple of small ones)
1 tbsp lemon juice or white wine vinegar
Bunch of sage
Pinch of salt
150 ml hazelnuts

Directions:
Rinse and halve the squash. Cut the halves in half. Place the squash halves on a baking sheet lined with baking paper, seed-side up. Put the sheet in the oven and roast the squash at 200 degrees for about 15 minutes. Take the sheet from the oven, and carefully turn the squash skin-side up. Continue roasting until the squash is soft, for about 20–30 minutes. Let the squash cool and remove the seeds. Scrape the squash strands into a bowl and season lightly with salt. You can do this well in advance before making the risotto.

Slice the apple into thin strips and put them in a bowl. Pour some lemon juice or white wine vinegar over the strips to keep them from browning. Fry the sage leaves in olive oil until crispy (but not brown). Take the leaves off the pan and drain them on a paper towel. Put the crushed hazelnuts in the pan, toast for about a minute and sprinkle lightly with salt.

Heat the vegetable stock. Put the olive oil, finely chopped onion, minced garlic cloves and a pinch of salt in a frying pan or large stockpot with a thick bottom. Sauté the onions over low heat until soft (not brown).

Mix the rice with the onions and bring the heat to medium high. Cook the rice for a couple of minutes until translucent. Stir the wine into the rice and keep stirring until the wine is absorbed. Ladle vegetable stock over the rice and stir until the liquid is absorbed. Keep adding vegetable stock for about 20 minutes until the rice is soft but still has a chewy texture.

Then, add the squash purée, butter and parmesan and stir vigorously to give the risotto a creamy consistency. Add salt, if necessary. Plate immediately and top the risotto with apple, hazelnuts and sage. You can also grate some parmesan over the risotto, if you wish. Serve right away.

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Matcha tiramisu

Ingredients for six servings:
200 g ladyfingers
4 eggs
400 g mascarpone
4 tbsp sugar
250 ml water
1.5 tbsp matcha powder + 1 tbsp for topping
3 tbsp almond liqueur (Amaretto)
(100 ml pistachio butter)

Directions:
Separate the egg yolks and whites into two bowls. Beat the whites and 2 tablespoons of sugar into a stiff, white foam. Beat the egg yolks and 2 tbsp of sugar until voluminous and pale yellow in color. Mix the mascarpone with the whisked egg yolks and sugar, whisking gently to prevent the mixture from becoming runny. Then, gently fold the whites into the mixture using a silicone spatula. Add 1.5 tablespoons of almond liqueur.

Heat 250 milliliters of water until it almost boils (up to about 70 degrees). Pour the water into a half-liter bowl. Using a matcha whisk, mix 1.5 tablespoons of matcha powder with the water and whisk until the mixture foams. You can also mix the water and matcha powder using a blender or milk frother or even by shaking in a glass jar. Add 1.5 tablespoons of almond liqueur into the mixture.

Dip ladyfingers in the liquid and place them at the bottom of the dish you have chosen. If you want to use pistachio butter, spread it on top of the first layer of ladyfingers. Add a layer of whipped mascarpone and another layer of ladyfingers. Keep doing this until you have used all the ladyfingers, and spread the rest of the whipped mascarpone as the topmost layer.

Let the tiramisu chill in the fridge for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. Dust the tiramisu with matcha powder right before serving. Serve with coffee and almond liqueur.

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Making the most out of the ingredients

Cook pasta from the leftovers
Usually, some roasted squash is left over from the butternut squash risotto, and if you use 2 tubs (1 tub = 250 g) mascarpone for the tiramisu, you will have 100 grams of extra tiramisu on your hands. Cook the pasta al dente and set some pasta cooking water aside. Add the squash purée, mascarpone, some chili flakes and a dash of cooking water to the pasta and stir. If necessary, add more cooking water until the consistency is creamy. Serve with grated parmesan.

More matcha
Use the rest of the matcha powder in baking or as a matcha latte prepared with vegetable milk or a more traditional matcha tea prepared with water. If matcha is a bit too bitter for your taste, add some honey or maple syrup into your drink and make sure that the water you use for your tea is not too hot.

Design Stories contributor Suvi Kesäläinen is a photographer, who loves to create dishes that are not only delicious but also fast and easy to make. She’s passionate about the best seasonal ingredients, local food, and intriguing culinary trends.

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See also:

• New tableware at Finnish Design Shop >

Text and photos: Suvi Kesäläinen