Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto

It's that time of year again - you're fed up of hearty winter stodge, but the vegetables of Spring aren't yet available and you still need something more warming than a salad.

We first got into butternut squash in a big way when I was weaning our daughter.  We would halve a squash, lay it in a roasting tin, scoop the seeds out of the cavity,  drizzle a little olive oil over, add a bit of water to the roasting tin, cover it with tinfoil and roast it until very soft and tender. it will take about an hour and a half at a medium temperature. An excellent idea is to sprinkle the squash with a bit of fresh thyme or sage at this stage.

We would freeze the pulp in one half of the squash for the Minx and then use the pulp from the other half to make a delicious butternut squash risottto.

Nowadays we just make a big pot of risotto from a single squash and my daughter probably enjoys it more than anyone - perfect, nutritional toddler-food.

This recipe is my standard risotto recipe, based on my Italian mother's recipe and gently modified over the years. 

Finely dice a small onion, or two or three small shallots, and saute them gently in about a tablespoon of olive oil and small knob of butter.  Run a large clove of garlic through a press and add to the onions.  Put a saucepan containing about a pint and half of chicken stock to heat on the stove top (I use the big packs of chicken broth you can get in the US, but stock cube stock is fine).

When the onions are soft, but not coloured, add a cup (makes enough for two hearty adult portions and some toddler-sized leftovers) of arborio or carnaroli rice turn the heat up to medium and stir gently for a couple of minutes. Then take a ladle and add a ladleful of hot stock.  It should sizzle and steam very satisfactorily. 

You then need to spend about 20 minutes minding the risotto.  Stir continually and add another ladleful of hot stock into the rice every time it looks like the rice has absorbed all the liquid.  Somewhere along the way add a glass or two of any white wine you've got opened in the fridge (or open a bottle to drink with the risotto) or a glass or two of vermouth (I particularly like Noilly Prat).  Keep going until the rice has softened and swollen, but still has a slight bite to it.  If you run out of hot liquid just add a bit of water.

When the rice is almost cooked, stir in the roasted butternut squash pulp, a handful of chopped fresh parsley, seasoning to taste (it will need salt as the butternut squash is quite sweet) and a heap of grated Parmesan cheese.

Then, when the rice is soft and creamy with only a very slight bite, add a big knob of butter, turn off the heat under the pan and cover with a lid.  Let the risotto steam for a minute or two and it will become extra creamy and delicious. 

Serve with a glass of chilled white wine and yet more Parmesan cheese.

Comments

[camilla]

That sounds delicious...will try out for supper tomorrow, since daughters both big risotto fans.

But shouldn't you be packing or unpacking? ;-)

xx

[cally]

Tastylicious!
Best of all you reminded me of the pics I took of my butternut squash a few weeks ago, it's a while since I flooded my blog with vegetable photo's. Infact, it's a few days since I posted anything at all. Naughty me.

Trying to get myself organised to enter the march photo comp but this month has not gone as planned so I'm playing catch-up. And on that note, just caught up on all your posts here, great stuff.

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