[AD] Butternut Squash Risotto with Riso Gallo | Recipe

Riso Gallo pride themselves on making a fully sustainable product (from the rice itself to the packaging it’s in). To showcase the full flavours of autumn we were tasked with making a Butternut Squash Risotto with their amazing Carnaroli rice. This rice is creamier and of a higher grade than your average arborio rice. Not only does it make the most amazing risotto, if you’re pushed for time it can be cooked in just 18 minutes.

Butternut Squash Risotto

A great traditional risotto recipe, a must from September to December, when squashes come to their best season.

 Course Main Course

 Cuisine Italian

 Prep Time 40 minutes

 Cook Time 18 minutes

 Servings 4

Ingredients

• 280 g of Riso Gallo Carnaroli Sustainable
• 50 g of grated Grana Padano
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 20 g unsalted butter
• 1 litre of vegetable stock
• 100 ml of dry white wine
• 1 small/medium butternut squash
• 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 small bunch of sage or dried sage
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Chop the butternut squash into small cubes, put half in a roasting tin and keep half aside. Toss the squash in the roasting tin with oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20-30 mins until soft at around 180c fan. In the meantime you can prep your ingredients then with about 10 mins to go on the roasting get going with your risotto.
2. Gently fry the chopped onion and garlic in a small casserole dish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt for about 5 minutes on low heat. Add the remaining squash cubes and a couple of sage leaves/tsp dried sage and cook for 10 more minutes until well golden and caramelised.
3. Add in the rice and heat through for a few minutes. When the rice is hot, pour the wine in. Let the alcohol evaporate, set the cooking time to 15 minutes and add the simmering stock a ladle at a time, little by little. Stir the rice occasionally, and keep cooking.
4. Whilst things are simmering, you need to whizz the roasted squash in a food processor until a puree is formed.
5. Halfway through the cooking, add the squash puree to the risotto.
6. Once the time is up, taste the risotto and if you’re happy with the texture remove it from the heat.
7. Add 30g grated Grana Padano cheese and butter to the rice. Stir with energy to incorporate extra air until the risotto is nice and creamy. Season to taste.
8. Plate the hot risotto straight away and add some of the leftover grated cheese.

What I love about this risotto is the addition of the butternut squash puree, it makes the dish all the more creamier! It might seem like a faffy thing to do, and you can omit if you’re after that quick dinner. But if you have the time, do it, you won’t regret it. You can always use a larger squash and freeze some of your squash puree for next time to save some time.