Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto

I had a butternut squash I needed to use and couldn't decide exactly what I wanted to cook using it. I considered squash ravioli. I thought about just roasting it and using it as a side dish. But I finally decided on risotto. I found a wonderful-sounding recipe on the blog, Garden of Eating, (love that name!), so off I went. I ended up using vermouth for the white wine called for in the recipe, as I had the perfect amount left in the bottle without having to open a new bottle of wine. I also had two quarts of homemade chicken stock in the freezer and used it all in this recipe. In retrospect, I think I could have added more liquid for a little creamier end product, but the flavor was amazing. That little bit of vermouth added the right amount of brightness and lightness to an otherwise autumnal dish. I will be making this over and over again!

Risotto with Roasted Butternut Squash

Serves 4-6

One butternut squash (2 pounds), peeled, de-seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch cubes cubes

One large onion, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil or butter

7 cups chicken or vegetable stock

2 cups arborio rice (risotto rice)

1/2 cup dry white wine (I used vermouth)

1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped (I used rosemary)

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the cubed squash with the olive oil, salt and pepper and turn out onto a heavy baking sheet in a single layer. Roast for 25 - 30 minutes, until soft, turning once, half-way through. Remove and set aside to cool.

2. Heat the stock in a saucepan. Cover the stock and leave it on low at a simmer while you're cooking the risotto.

3. In a large, heavy bottomed pan melt the butter and cook the onion on medium-low heat until softened, about 5 minutes.

4. Add the rice and stir to coat all the grains with butter. Saute the rice for 2 - 3 minutes until the rice becomes chalky and you can see a white dot in the center of each grain. Then add the wine and cook for 2 minutes, stirring, until it's been absorbed.

5. Add one cup of the hot stock to the pan and stir until it has all been absorbed by the rice (if you don't stir and cook until the liquid is absorbed with each addition, the rice will get very gummy).

6. Continue to add stock, one cup at a time, stirring constantly until the rice has absorbed the liquid and starts to seem dry before adding more stock. Once you've added 6 cups of the stock, you should start adding 1/2 cup at a time. Keep doing this until the rice is cooked through but still a little al dente, about 30 minutes total (you may not end up using all of the stock but it should be pretty close -- if you run out of stock, you can substitute hot water towards the end.)

7. Turn off the heat, add the roasted squash cubes, chopped herbs, and parmesan cheese, season with salt and pepper, mix well and serve.


Source: http://gardenofeating.blogspot.com