Flavors of Fall {Butternut Squash Risotto}

Risotto is one of my favorite meals to prepare in large batches. Jeromy and I can get a meal out of it and a couple of servings for lunch. Over the summer I don’t make risotto because it is just too hot where we live to stand over a stove stirring rice for 25 minutes, even with the help of air conditioning. So with the advent of fall, I start making risotto once again.

Risotto can be temperamental and I don’t always make it well. Last time I made it, I put too much stock into the pot and the rice became gummy. Not a good way to eat risotto. I was much more careful for this recipe and it turned out perfectly.

Since Caroline and I are in Massachusetts right now I made this on Friday night so Jeromy would have something to eat while we’re gone. Though let’s be honest, Jeromy is able to feed himself while I’m gone but at least this way I know he’s eating something with vegetables!

Print this recipe!

Ingredients

1 butternut squash
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
3 slices of bacon, cut into thin strips, 1/2 inch wide
1 medium large shallot
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup Arborio rice
4 cups chicken stock, warmed
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
1/2-1 cup of water
2 tablespoons butter
about a 1-2 inch slice of goat cheese
1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
salt
pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Slice the butternut squash in half, sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast for 45 minutes.

Allow the squash to cool completely {I ended up doing this step early in the morning and leaving it in the fridge for a few hours}. Set aside the squash seeds to toast for a garnish.

When you are ready to make the risotto, mash the squash until it’s a smooth consistency.

I find risotto easiest to make if all of the ingredients are measured out an assembled when I start the recipe. Mise en place is key here.

Most importantly, the broth or stock that will be added to the rice needed to be at a high temperature. I use my electric kettle to boil the chicken stock in this recipe so that I could just pour it into the pot as needed. If you don’t have an electric kettle, just keep the broth at a simmer on the stove and use a ladle to transfer the broth to the risotto pot.

Use a large pot for this recipe, I use my Dutch oven for risotto.

Render the bacon until cooked to your preferred level {my husband likes it soft, I like it crunchy. For this dish, I did it crunchy to add texture}.

Remove the bacon to a rack lined with a paper towel.

Add the shallot to the pot over medium high heat. There should be enough rendered bacon fat in the pot, but if necessary add a splash of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and sauté the shallots until they are soft, about 2-3 minutes.

Next, add the Arborio rice and stir until it’s well coated and toast for about a minute. Then, add the wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up all of the browned bits of delicious goodness on the bottom.

When almost all of the wine has been absorbed by the rice add a cup of the warm chicken stock and stir continuously.

Add the broth in batches. As one cup is almost completely absorbed, add another cup, while continuing to stir the pot. This should take 20-25 minutes. After 3 cups of broth, I like to taste the rice to see how much more broth to add. If the rice is still on the crunchy side of done, I add more, if it’s feeling soft and creamy, I’ll stop adding broth. You just want to avoid reaching the gummy stage with too much broth.

Next, add in the mashed butternut squash. Immediately the risotto will become very thick, so add 1/2-1 cup of water to thin it out a bit. Add the brown sugar and stir to combine.

Remove the pot from the heat add stir in the sage, bacon, goat cheese and butter. Season generously with salt and pepper to taste.

{At this point, I should have lightly toasted the squash seeds, but I forgot about them and didn’t include them in the final dish.}

Serve immediately.

Risotto is so creamy and filling that a little bit can go a long way. You can even serve this as a first course at a dinner party for a taste of risotto instead of the main course.

I love that this risotto packs a punch of great fall flavor from the butternut squash and sage.