Rick Stein’s Butternut Squash and Sage Risotto
Rick Stein's butternut squash and sage risotto is the kind of dish that's made for cosy autumnal evenings. You'll roast the squash with sage first to dial up the flavour of the dish, before folding it through your creamy risotto. Divine.
From the book
Introduction
I only really like butternut squash if it’s roasted first, which concentrates the flavour and makes it deliciously sweet, and this technique is successful in a risotto. What I do is mash the roasted squash, but not too thoroughly, so some soft lumps remain in the finished risotto. This can be a good vegan dish if you leave out the cheese and use plant-based butter.
Ingredients
| 4 tbsp | olive oil |
| 8–10 | sage leaves |
| 900–1kg | butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into rough chunks |
| 1.5 litres | vegetable stock |
| 60g | butter |
| 1 | banana shallot, chopped |
| 1 | garlic clove, chopped |
| 300g | Arborio or Carnaroli rice |
| 100ml | dry white wine |
| 60g | vegetarian Parmesan-style cheese, grated |
| salt and black pepper |
Essential kit
You will need: a potato masher.
Method
Preheat the oven to 220°C/Fan 200°C. Heat the oil in a frying pan until hot but not smoking and add 4 whole sage leaves. Fry them until crisp, then set them aside on kitchen paper, ready to garnish the risotto later. Set the pan aside.
Pour the oil from the pan into a roasting tin and add the butternut squash. Slice the remaining sage leaves into thin strips and add them to the squash, then season with salt and pepper. Roast the squash for 25 minutes until golden and tender.
Pour the stock into a pan and bring to the boil. Melt 40g of the butter in the frying pan, add the shallot and garlic and cook gently until softened but not coloured. Add the rice and stir well to coat, then cook until translucent. Add the wine and allow it to bubble up and be absorbed. Start adding the hot stock, a ladleful at a time, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding the next. Keep stirring for 18–20 minutes until the rice is creamy and the consistency is soupy.
Using a potato masher, mash the roasted butternut squash very roughly and add it to the rice, then fold in the remaining butter and two-thirds of the grated cheese. Season well with salt and black pepper. Serve the risotto in warmed bowls and top each with a little more cheese and a fried sage leaf.
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