Butternut Squash Risotto
When Ben and I started dating he was living in Brooklyn. As well as racking up lots of air miles we also spent a lot of time on the phone. In lieu of a real date, we’d often cook together/apart on the phone. Risotto was and still is one of his favourite things to make so we’d often both be making it on these phone dates. Which makes sense since risotto making is a nice slow process – you couldn’t be making risotto on one end of the line and a stir fry on the other. It’s nice to have company when making this dish, whether your pal is on the phone or in your kitchen. Contrary to popular belief you don’t need to stir risottos constantly but you do have to be nearby to give them a stir every few minutes. Ben was working late last night but I did have a little friend with me.
I wanted to create a double duty dinner last night and remembered I had a butternut squash in the fridge. I decided to make a risotto and a batch of baby food while I was at it. Once I had the oven heated up I realized there was also a sweet potato in the fridge and wrapped in foil to bake for baby food, too. Risotto is a nice change from pasta, which Esme would eat every day of her life given the chance. And like pasta, risotto has endless variations. Once you get the basic technique down you can take it anywhere. This is a nice, healthy vegetarian version.
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash
- 5 cups vegetable stock (could be chicken if you aren't looking to create a vegetarian dish)
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 medium zuchini, sliced and then cut into half moons
- 1 cup arborio rice
- 2-3 tbsps. olive oil
- 3 or 4 sage leaves chopped
- pinch nutmeg
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Method
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees
Prep time: approx. 90 mins including the roasting time for the vegetable
Yield: 2-4 servings
Cut your butternut squash in half and scoop out the guts.
Slice the squash into slices about 1 or 2 inches thick.
Place on a baking tray or pan and put in the oven for about 45 to 50 minutes.
Check it with a fork to see if it's soft.
Run a knife just above the skin so you have one big piece of squash flesh.
Chop up 2 of the slices into cubes and put them aside for the end of the recipe.
Puree the rest of the squash. You may need to add a little water to thin it out as it can be very thick.
I used about one cup of puree for the risotto and put aside for baby food.
Bring your stock to simmer in one pot as you're getting your other vegetables ready.
You only want to add hot stock to a risotto.
Sautee onion, garlic and zucchini in a good glug of olive oil until they smell great and start to soften a bit.
Add the rice and stir around to coat it in the oil. Stir for a minute or so but when it starts to stick it's time to move on to the stock.
Add the stock to the rice about one cup at a time and stir.
Allow each new amount to be absorbed by the rice before adding the next.
It will take about twenty minutes or so.
Once you've got the fourth cup of stock incorporated start tasting the rice. It should be al dente, which means that you don't want completely mushy rice.
Add the cup of pureed squash, the sage and the nutmeg.
Then throw in the parmesan and the cubed squash.
Taste again before adding salt and pepper, if needed.
At the table add another little dusting of parmesan to each plate. Esme objected to the pieces of squash but I didn’t care since there was lots of it mixed into the rice. Enjoy!
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Hey, thanks for stopping by!
We're Ceri and Laura, a couple of magazine-editors-turned-food-bloggers. Also, we're mothers obsessed with delicious, healthy, family food. We're constantly thinking of ways to make your time (and our own!) in the kitchen easier and more productive, but still nostalgic for the days when dinner was cereal eaten over the kitchen sink.
2 Comments
Diany
March 28, 21:26I love your website, I skimmed as far as to go to the end and found this gem. I just finished it and it came out delicious! Usually I add my own touch to recipes, but for this, there was no need.
Ceri
April 13, 12:30Hi Diany,
Sorry for the slow reply to your lovely note. I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the risotto! I love any risotto but this is a good one, isn’t it? Thanks for reading and cooking along with us!