risotto

 We still have dozens of butternut squashes from the garden so last night I made butternut squash risotto.  It was a whopper of a squash (7 1/2 pounds!) so I made a ton of risotto and will be having it for lunch for the next few days.  It's a good thing it's super delicious!!

I didn't pay that much attention to exact amounts, but this is pretty much what I did.  You could easily halve the recipe for a more normal sized squash!!

1 giant butternut squash
3 cups Arborio rice
12 cups vegetable broth (I used Better than Bullion mushroom base)
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
a few glugs of olive oil
5 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons fresh sage, finely chopped


First step is to roast the squash.  Preheat your oven to 400º.   Halve the squash the long way, peel one half and chop it into 1/2 inch cubes.  Toss the cubes in olive oil, and spread them out on one side of a cookie sheet.  Brush the other side of cookie sheet with olive oil and put the other half of the squash, face down, on it.

While you're at it, clean the seeds and roast them.  You can do it the same time you are roasting the squash.  They are just as good as pumpkin seeds!  

When the cubes of squash are cooked and browned, remove them from the oven and continue cooking the half squash until it's tender.

When the half squash is cooked, let it cool until you can handle it easily (I stuck it outside in the cold for about 15 minutes to hurry things up.).  Scoop it out and mash it.

Heat the stock until almost boiling and keep hot.

Heat a few glugs of olive oil in a big stock pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender.  Add the rice and stir until it's coated in oil and looks translucent.  Add a cup of the hot broth to the rice and stir until the liquid is almost completely absorbed.  Add another cup of broth and repeat until the rice is about half way done.

Add the garlic, ginger and mashed squash with the next cup of stock and stir until well combined.

At the same time, fry the sage in 2 tablespoons of butter until crispy.

Keep cooking, adding a cup of stock at a time and stirring until the rice is slightly firm, but creamy and still pretty wet.  Add the cubes of squash, 3/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese and 3 tablespoons of butter and stir until the cheese and butter are melted and the squash is heated through.

Serve immediately, topping with some fried sage and Parmesan.  Yum!