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BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND SAGE RISOTTO

Decided to go for a vegetarian option this week. DS1 rarely eats meat or fish so I am always on the lookout for a tasty meat free dish that disguises vegetables! Went for this risotto as it’s seasonal and makes a nice winter dish (and DS1 loves risotto!). This is from Jamie Oliver’s “Cook with Jamie”. If you wanted to have meat with this dish you could add some smoked pancetta.

Ingredients (serves 8)
Risotto:
1 litre/1.75 pints vegetable or chicken stock (if you go with veg stock don’t use the low salt ones, it doesn’t have the right flavour for a risotto)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 large onion, peeled and very finely chopped
4 sticks of celery trimmed and very finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic very finely chopped
600g/1lb Arborio/Risotto rice (Tescos have their own brand of arborio rice and I think all Tescos stock it)
250ml/9 fl oz white wine
1 tablespoon mascarpone cheese
100g/3.5 oz butter (optional)
1-2 handfuls freshly grated parmesan cheese
Bunch of fresh sage leaves
Handful of amaretti biscuits roughly crushed (optional)

Butternut Squash:
1 cinnamon stick (personally I would go with ground cinnamon as you really, really, really need to grind the cinnamon sticks!)
1 dried red chilli
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
1 medium butternut squash carefully quartered and seeds discarded

Preheat oven to 180c.
In a pestle and mortar pound the cinnamon stick and chilli with a good pinch of salt until you have a coarse powder. Rub the pieces of squash all over with olive oil and then rub the smashed spices all over the butternut squash. Put in an ovenproof dish and cook for 45-60 minutes until soft and caramelised. Remove from the oven and put to one side. When cool scoop the flesh out of the squash skin and mash it gently with a fork.

Bring the stock to simmer in a saucepan (the stock needs to be warm when making risotto)

In a large pan add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, butter, onion, celery and garlic. Cook very gently for about 10 minutes, without colouring, until soft. Add the rice (it will sizzle) and turn up the heat. Don’t let the rice or veg stick on the bottom of the pan so keep it moving.

Quickly pour in the wine and keep stirring all the time until it has evaporated.

Add half the stock and all the mashed butternut squash. Stirring all the time gently bring to the boil then turn the heat down and simmer until almost all of the stock has been absorbed. Add the rest of the stock ladleful at a time until the rice is cooked. You might not need all your stock. Be careful not to overcook the rice. Check it throughout the cooking, it should hold its shape but be soft, creamy and oozy.

Turn off the heat, beat in the mascarpone, butter (optional) and parmesan cheese, check the seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. Put a lid on the pan and leave the risotto to rest for a minute while you heat a medium sized frying pan with a generous glug of olive oil. Fry the sage leaves for a minute of two until crispy, remove with a slotted spoon onto some kitchen paper.

Serve with a sprinkling of the crispy sage leaves, crushed amaretti biscuits and fresh parmesan shavings (and a glass of chilled white wine!).

Edited to say to go with ground cinnamon instead of cinnamon stick!

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Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe

Excellent Clauds! I'm a few weeks behind but can't wait to try this out.

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Proud mum of 3. DD1 Skinny Minny 10! DD2 My Sensitive Soul 8! DS The Bulldozer A big 6!!!!!!!!!

Interesting choice!! Looking forward to trying this during the week. I love butter it squash. DH will turn up his nose at this but I'd say the kids will love it...

My recipe, the one I had picked, was butternut squash and bacon risotto. Delighted you posted this as I really wanted to make it this week. And I get to pick another recipe now too

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DD1 - June '05
DD2 - June '08
DD3 - April '13

Our New Years Day baby boy, gone but never forgotten.

What does this mean?

I'll try it tonight or tomorrow night! Can't wait. Have never made risotto at all. Sounds hard, I mean, difficult Hope I don't feck it up, I'm getting cocky here, don't want to make a show of myself.

Engol - just means that the stock should be hot. So just keep it on a low heat in a saucepan.

It honestly isn't that hard to make. Don't have it on too high a heat when cooking - the rice might look like it's cooked but could still be quiet hard. usually it takes 20 mins to cook

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Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe

Made this a couple of weeks ago and it is delicious. Also means i don't have to make it this time - i've enough dishes to catch up on!!! Still need to make the pork (Sunday), crab cakes and fish pie...................

this sounds lovely, will def give it a go

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DD1 is 7
DD2 is 4.5
DS is 2

Brilliant , love the sound of this. I've had a squash looking at me all week in the kitchen - it's end is nigh !

oh this sounds lovely I LOVE risotto!! Perfect hangover dinner for sunday methinks

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My Blog : http://www.Thisismeandfood.com

You cannot control a situation, but you can control your reaction to it..

I've never made risotto and I've only ever eaten it out twice and both times it just looked and had the feel in my mouth of fish eggs and snot!! Sorry that's gross I know Hopefully this might change my mind!

oh nooooo Raven, Risotto made well is fab - total comfort food!

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My Blog : http://www.Thisismeandfood.com

You cannot control a situation, but you can control your reaction to it..

Honest to god, its not difficult. You just need a bit of patience and way more stock that you think, and just keep adding small amounts of stock to the rice, letting it absorb it bit by bit until its soft and oh so good

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DD1 - June '05
DD2 - June '08
DD3 - April '13

Our New Years Day baby boy, gone but never forgotten.

Raven, a well made risotto is fab - esp with lashings of parmesan cheese and black pepper. Kimbaby, agree, it's definitely good hangover food!

For this receipe if you can get the sage leaves fry the whole lot as the crispy leaves really make this dish. I am a huge sage fan.

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Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe

I LOVE sage too, used always have it growing it out the back! Despite my previous encounters with risotto, I'm actually looking forward to this one as I know I'm going to learn something new

Oh lovely was waiting for no. 12

Love Risotto, looking forward to trying this out

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“Women are meant to be loved, not to be understood.” - Oscar Wilde

Do you happen to have the calories and fat for this one? Myself and dh are on diets I do love risotto though and ADORE sage, especially fried
Maybe if you could give me an approximate weight of the parmesan required as I can pretty much work out the rest.
Thanks

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Mr Munches is 8.75 years old
Little Oss Bossy is 5.5 years old
Little Miss Tiny is 2.25 years old

Oh lord, I have no ideas about calories. To keep this low fat I would leave out the mascarpone cheese, butter, amaretti biscuits and don't add the parmesan to the risotto - just put a few shavings on the risotto when you are serving it. That way you can control how much parmesan you have.

Does that help?

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Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe

But they're the yummy bits

Would it still work do you think?

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Mr Munches is 8.75 years old
Little Oss Bossy is 5.5 years old
Little Miss Tiny is 2.25 years old

I've done this without the marscapone and it was lovely. I don't eat butter so I never put butter into anything (apart from baking!). I do love parmesan cheese so I put loads of parmesan into the risotto. But DH isn't a big parmesan fan so I don't put anywhere near as much in his and he says his is always fine!

Only other thing I can suggest is don't eat for the way and just have the complete full fat risotto

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Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe

If I could do that I wouldn't be in this mess

Sure I'll give it a go, I can just use a small amount of parmesan ... usually when I make risotto it's practically solid from the parmesan, I'll report back on the low fat version so.

Also, squash is €1.49 in Lidl at the moment, much cheaper than Dunnes afaik

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Mr Munches is 8.75 years old
Little Oss Bossy is 5.5 years old
Little Miss Tiny is 2.25 years old

Well I try to give an honest response to each dish but tbh I have to say I really didn't like this and I couldn't finish my portion. Which was odd as I love risotto and make loads of different ones, and I adore butternut squash. But it took forever to cook, seriously the rice took over an hour and a half and I was only making enough for two...... And when it was finished all I could taste was cinnamon - again something I love - so I don't know why I didn't like it But hey its a learning experience.

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Goddesses are women in the neighbourhood getting together and sharing
There's only one way of life and that's your own

My first little baba, mmc July 2006, never forgotten



http://www.misebandia.wordpress.com - my blog

Oh Dear

Not knowing anything about chillis, never having cooked with them before, I bought what looked to me like a dried red chilli. Dh just read the small print, it says "the worlds hottest chilli"

The squash is in the oven. We'll see

Engol, sounds like a bird eye chilli If you only out one in, you'll be fine