Peeling butternut squash is one of those unfortunate and unpleasant tasks that, to my dismay, almost always end up being worth it.
If recipes requiring peeled and chopped winter squash wound up being eh or even just okay, I’d swear off peeling squash forever. But the sad fact is, the payoff is usually tremendous. So I soldier on.
Sure, all that slicing and peeling is tedious, but that’s not what bothers me most. What gets me is what the little buggers do to my hands.
At first I thought I was the only one who had this problem. Every time I’d get the brilliant idea to peel and chop a butternut squash, my hands would end up looking chapped and raw, with a strange film covering the surface of my skin. No matter how many times I’d wash my hands and slather them with lotion, that strange sensation wouldn’t go away. I felt like Lady Macbeth.
But then I heard more family and friends making the same complaint. “I just spent all afternoon chopping up squash,” my mother once said to me over the phone, “and now my hands look like I stuck them in acid. I hate what that vegetable does to my skin!”
So it isn’t just me. And after a little Googling, I came across a scientific paper entitled “Butternut Squash (Curcurbita moschata) dermatitis,” written by two dermatologists. Apparently, a compound in butternut squash can cause contact dermatitis, a localized rash or irritation of the skin. This isn’t necessarily the case for everyone, but it happens to enough people that now I don’t feel like I’m crazy.
You can imagine my reaction, then, when I saw a phenomenal recipe for saffron risotto with roasted butternut squash, for which the first instructions read, “Peel squash, remove the seeds and chop into 3/4″ cubes.” Oh no, not that again. But the recipe looked so good and I couldn’t get it out of my head. There had to be another way.
That’s when it came to me: rubber gloves. A perfect solution? As it turns out, nearly, and it was certainly better than raw hands or — horrors — no risotto at all. I threw on a pair of tight-fitting rubber gloves and peeled away — a task that does not become any less tedious with gloves, but at least I didn’t need to sacrifice my skin in the process.
So problem solved. I peeled the squash, the squash didn’t peel me, and I made a risotto that was most definitely worth the effort.
Edited to add: If you’ve had a bad skin reaction after peeling and chopping squash, wash your hands with cool water and soap, then rub some cortisone cream all over your hands. This should help heal the contact dermatitis, though the rash and strange sensation will not disappear immediately.
Saffron Risotto with Roasted Butternut Squash
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Family Style
Note: If you can’t find pancetta (an Italian smoked bacon), you can substitute regular bacon. Vegetarians could leave it out altogether. Also, saffron can be quite pricey, but Trader Joe’s sells small jars of it for a very reasonable price.
1 butternut squash (~2 lbs)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt
Pepper
6 cups low-sodium chicken stock (vegetarians could use vegetable stock)
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup minced shallots (~2 large)
2 ounces pancetta
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon saffron threads
1 cup Parmesan cheese
Preheat the oven to 400F.
Peel the butternut squash. I’ve found the easiest way to do this is to separate the squash into two parts: the straight, upper shaft and the lower bulbous portion. Stand the top part upright and, beginning at the top, slice downward to peel the squash. Cut the bulbous portion in half, scoop out the seeds and peel in the same fashion as the top portion.
Chop the squash into 3/4″ cubes (you should have ~6 cups). Spread the squash on a sheet pan and toss it with the olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Roast for 25-30 minutes, tossing once, until very tender. Set aside.
Meanwhile, pour the chicken stock into a small saucepan and cover it will a lid. Bring the stock to a simmer, then reduce heat to low to keep it simmering.
In a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the pancetta and shallots on medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until the shallots are translucent but not browned. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains with the butter. Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes.
Add 2 full ladles of the simmering stock to the rice, along with the saffron, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Stir, and simmer until the stock is absorbed, about 5 minutes or so. Continue to add the stock, 2 ladles at a time, stirring every few minutes. Each time, cook until the mixture seems a little dry, then add more stock. Continue until the rice is cooked through, but still al dente, about 30 minutes total. You may not end up using all the stock; keep tasting and checking as you reach the 30 minute mark.
Off the heat, add the roasted squash cubes and Parmesan cheese. Mix well and mangia!
Yield: 4-6 servings
Mmmmm…the risotto looks wonderful! I’ve never noticed that skin problem with squash but I loved reading your story! Glad the gloves helped 🙂
I always learn something new when I read your blog! My skin seems to react to everything I touch, but I’ve never had the squash reaction.
Elise on Simply Recipes just wrote about butternut squash risotto too– great minds think alike!– but hers doesn’t have saffron so you win.
Good for me , I don’t have butternut squash dermatitis. I have used butternut squash in risotto too, together with some wild mushrooms. The flavors are awesome. Looking at your saffron risotto dish makes me want to go home and cook it right now!
Saffron risotto is one of my favourite dishes. I will definitely try this recipe! Would you suggest buying the Barefoot Contessa’s book?
http://www.chocolateshavings.ca
Nicole – So glad to hear you don’t have that problem — trust me, it sucks!
Caroline – Thanks :). Always glad to inform others of my woes and discoveries!
Veron – Doesn’t squash work so well in risotto? Especially with the saffron, it was great.
Jenn – I have to say, almost every recipe I’ve made from one of Ina Garten’s cookbooks has been really tasty. If I had to rank her top 3…I’d say her Parties book, followed by the original Barefoot Contessa, and then her Family Style book.
Thank you so much for your advice – I will defintely buy one of those.
Happy cooking, and great blog!
Jenn
http://www.chocolateshavings.ca
[…] Recipes “What, will these hands ne’er be clean?” […]
I just made saffron risotto last night but it turned out way too salty even though I followed the directions to the letter. This is the first Barefoot Contessa recipe that wasn’t absolutely wonderful.
The roasted squash was wonderful though. I kept sneaking bits of it off the baking sheet while I was mixing up the risotto…next time I’ll skip the rice and just roast some squash.
Jenn V. – I’m so sorry to hear that! Neither my boyfriend or I thought it was too salty, but then neither of us are very sensitive to salty things (unlike some of my other friends). Did you use low-salt chicken stock?? I didn’t mention that in the instructions and have since added it, but for any recipe like this or with soup, low-sodium stock or broth is the best choice so that you can season it yourself. Otherwise, even I would probably find it too salty.
FWIW, both our Costco and our local grocery store sell peeled, cubed, uncooked butternut squash. It’s more expensive than buying a whole squash but I find it worth the few extra dollars. It would be perfect in this recipe.
I often roast butternut squash cubes as a dinner side: Toss the cubes in olive oil and salt, roast at 450 degrees about 40 minutes or until brown and crusty on the bottom. You can stir the cubes up once while roasting, or not, depending on your level of laziness. They’re great both ways.
I look forward to trying this risotto!
Thanks so much for posting Ina’s recipe. I make the risotto a lot and was telling friends about it – of course they’re online and wanted the recipe and I really didn’t want to type it up again. Yay – Dana to the rescue.
The Barefoot Contessa Family Style is one of my desert island cookbooks (must have) – all fab recipes. She’s the best.
Erika – Thanks for the heads up! The places around me that sell pre-cut squash don’t always provide the best quality, but when they do, it’s a huge time-saver.
Jodiodeeo – Glad I could be of service! And it’s true, Ina’s recipes are gold. I don’t think I’ve ever made one that hasn’t come out.
[…] also made this old standby with a squash I grew in my garden. I have to wonder if Ina’s people are going to come by […]
Dana, I responded to your comment on my own blog…but I just had to post here and say WHOA, how weird is it that my sister (1000 miles away) posted a comment here six days ago and I had no idea when I linked to you yesterday? Hilarious. She’s the one who got me hooked on the risotto. 😉
Julie – Hahaha, small world, huh?!? I’m glad you were both able to find me!
Wow, I’ve never had a reaction to handling butternut squash, but you’ve opened my eyes to some others’ plights.
I’m very new to the squash, still discovering tasty recipes for it. Is it possible to peel and dice a whole bunch and then freeze it in servings for later recipes? (Squash puree freezes great, but I wonder how the flesh itself stands up to freezing and defrosting. Does it get all mushy?)
Hopefully bagging up a whole bunch for 3 or 4 recipes later would reduce some of the headache.
BTW, my tip: 1/2 cup squash puree in a pot of chicken noodle soup. Punches up the broth’s flavor, color, and thickens it perfectly. Mmmm!
If you’re going to roast the squash anyway, could you just cut it in half, roast it in the skin, scoop it out when it’s all soft and cooked, then cube it?
That would minimize skin contact.
it seems i recently came down with the butternut squash dermat…. i want to tell you it itches like hell thanks so much for having this infor on the web to educate both myself and anyone else that should come down with it
[…] like roast chicken (oh, do I have an excellent new roast chicken recipe to share with you soon) or saffron risotto. In fact, on some level it isn’t so much what I cook but rather that can take time to enjoy […]
[…] really tired/feeling lazy, so here’s the link to the recipe. I followed it fairly closely except for using bacon and cutting down the proportions a little. I […]
[…] out it isn’t uncommon . Some people blame it on “Butternut Squash Dermatitis”. Others say it’s the […]
Hey, nice tips. I’ll buy a bottle of beer to the man from that chat who told me to visit your site 🙂
[…] Saffron Risotto with Butternut Squash from Proof of the Pudding. […]
thanks for that
Thanks for the post. I had the reaction to the butternut squash on the weekend for the first time. I have handled many many squash in my life and never had it before. The information was very helpful.
Hey, I just had the reaction to butternut squash too, Thanks for your post, Before reading it I was truly freaked out. You don’t mention a problem with eating the squash which is good as we are having butternut squash for dinner. Seriously, I am not sure about eating it!
Don’t worry — it’s just dermatitis, a skin reaction. You’ll be fine eating it.