Butternut Squash Risotto

This was the first time I ever cooked with butternut squash or made risotto, but it will not be the last.  This was really yummy and creamy and wonderful.

You will have several things going at once - squash roasting in the oven that needs to be stirred every 10 minutes, near constant stirring of the risotto on the stove and toasting of the walnuts - this will be much easier with another person to help (or at least keep kids occupied, phones answered, etc.) so you are not far from the stirring for long because the risotto will stick to the bottom of the pot if it goes unstirred too long.  The stirring would be a great job for an older child so you can focus on the squash and nuts (I burned over-toasted my first batch of walnuts).

I made a few alterations -

• dried herbs (use 1/2 of the recommended fresh quantity)
• vegetable broth
• no mushrooms (DS is anti-mushroom at the moment)
• it took more broth than stated in the recipe, so have some extra on hand

Recipe adapted from the September/October 2010 issue of Clean Eating magazine

Butternut Squash Risotto

Butternut Squash Risotto with Walnuts

INGREDIENTS

3 cups peeled, diced fresh butternut squash

EVOO or olive oil cooking spray

Sea salt and pepper to taste

4 cups low-sodium organic chicken broth

1/2 cup onion, diced

1 tablespoon EVOO

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced (2 cups)

1 tablespoons garlic, minced

1 cup arborio rice

1 tablespoon fresh thyme (I used dried)

1 tablespoon fresh sage, minced (I used dried)

1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas (thawed if frozen)

1/4 cup shredded fontina or Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons chopped walnuts, toasted

DIRECTIONS

1. Peel squash with vegetable peeler and dice.
2. Toss squash in EVOO, season with salt and pepper.
3. Roast squash rimmed baking sheet in a in 425 oven for 20 - 35 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
4. Bring broth to a simmer in saucepan and keep warm.
5. Saute onion in 1 tablespoon of EVOO over medium-high heat for 3 minutes.  Add mushrooms and saute until they start to soften, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and saute for 1 minute more.  Add rice and stir to coat with oil and vegetables.
6. Add 1/2 cup of warm broth; simmer ans stir until liquid evaporates, about 2 minutes.
7. Add another 1/2 cup of warm broth, simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid is almost all evaporated.
8. Continue adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, allow to simmer until liquid is evaporated.
9. Taste rice after 3/4 of the broth has been added.  Rice is done when it's tender but still slightly firm and white in the very center (not chalky).  Continue adding broth until only 1/2 cup remains.  (Add more broth to warm if necessary -- I needed an extra one cup of broth).
10. Add thyme, sage, peas and chees to pan with last 1/2 cup of broth; stir until cheese melts.
11. Remove pan from heat before all liquid is absorbed.  Gently fold in cooked squash and walnuts.
12. Season with salt and pepper and serve warm.