This recipe is courtesy of Hip Cooks. Ben and I attended a Hip Cooks cooking class and made this risotto at home for Valentine’s Day. We made this with veggie stock at home and froze the leftover stock for future risottos.
1 Butternut squash peeled and diced. (Low and behold, TJs has it already diced – check for freshness)
1 packet sage leaves
1 medium onion
Garlic
Cream
Chicken stock if you are non-veggie (or see the note below on veggie stock)
Parmesan, pecorino or asiago cheese to finish your risotto
To prep the squash:
Sauté with oil in plenty of garlic (about 5 or so cloves, diced). Do this over medium heat so as not to brown the squash – the goal is to cook it until soft but not browned. When it is done, add salt and sage to taste. For the sage, make sure you separate the leaves from the stems (the stems are bitter, blechy!). To chiffonade the sage leaves: stack the leaves, and run your knife along the leaves to sliver finely. But this is your show - chop them how you want them!
To cook the risotto:
Practice your knife skills and dice the celery and onions. Sweat the celery and onion in a wide, heavy-bottomed pan with a bit of olive oil and butter (1-2 tbsps of each, but who has time to measure!) Add about 1 and 1/2 cups of rice and stir around until the rice absorbs the liquid that the veggies have given off. Cover the rice in store bought chicken stock or veggie stock* if you prefer. (And the stock does not have to be hot already, as we did in the class - this just makes it go faster.) Gently keep adding liquid, salt and pepper to taste. Careful not to overstir! When the rice is prefect, introduce the squash. Add in more sage, cream and grated cheese (Parmesan, pecorino, romano, asiago - whatever!) at the last minute. Viola!
* A note on making your own veggie stock: reserve the ends of the celery (from one head), & the trimmings from the onion. Add three roughly chopped carrots and the stems from a bunch of parsley. Put these in a large pot (like the kind you use for pasta, and bring to a boil. When it has come to a boil, turn off the heat and let cool until you are ready to strain it. It should be a lovely light brown in color, taste good, and make your kitchen smell fantastic.
