Butternut Squash Risotto Recipe
Ingredients:
- 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup onion, finely chopped
- 2 cups cooked butternut squash
- 2 cups arborio rice
- ¾ cup dry white wine
- 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons chopped thyme or parsley (optional)
Directions:
- Heat broth in medium sized saucepan and keep warm over low heat.
- Melt 4 Tbsp of butter in a large saucepan; add onion. Cook over medium heat until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add arborio rice to onion. Cook 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the wine and cook, stirring constantly until wine has been absorbed by the rice or evaporated.
- Add squash and stir to distribute evenly.
- Over medium heat, add broth a cup at a time, allowing the rice to absorb it. Continue cooking and stirring until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender but still firm, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Off the heat, add remaining butter, parmesan, and herbs if using. Rice should have a creamy consistency. Add salt to taste. Makes 4-6 servings.
This is my tried-and-true method, but Market Master Barbara recently showed me an article about Risotto Milanese that uses a speedier method. In Milan, the chefs used vegetable broth exclusively, did not use onion at all, added all the broth at once stirring frequently but not constantly, added saffron (soaked in a little hot water) at the end (before the parm & butter), and one of them even used sherry vinegar instead of wine. I’m totally intrigued and want to try this as soon as possible!
