Starchy Mash-Up.

It's Monday!  And I have got a tasty fall recipe for you today!  I kind of mashed together two different recipe inspirations to come up with a lovely Butternut Squash Risotto for dinner.  Disclaimer:  this dinner was eaten on Friday, not Monday.  I've got basketball on the brain today.  No time to cook.

I'd had my eye on a Butternut Squash Risotto recipe for quite some time.  After my favorite "science meets food" show Good Eats aired a repeat of an episode on risotto, I couldn't get it out of my head. 

Must make risotto.

Hey there fella.

Risotto is more of a technique than a recipe.  And while I won't claim to have perfected it by any means, I am quite capable of turning out a tasty dish.

Dice up that squash.

Drew walked into the kitchen right as I was getting ready to throw the squash in a pan to cook and said, "That's a lot of cheese." 

I love that guy.

Stir Stir Stir.

Both recipes called for dry white wine.  As a devoted red wine enthusiast myself, I had absolutely no idea what kind of white wine is dry.  I had to ask the lady at the liquor store.  I went with a Cabernet Sauvignon.  Since the risotto only called for a cup, I used this as an opportunity to acquire a taste for white wine. 

It totally worked.

Ladle and stir.

I was pretty skeptical as to whether or not Drew would like the risotto.  He's not a big squash guy.  But he said he really liked it.  Good thing, because there were lots of leftovers.  And I don't think it freezes well. :)

White wine?  Yes please!

Butternut Squash Risotto

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups arborio rice
• 1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 carton (4 cups) vegetable
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• Salt & Peppa

Method

• Warm the broth and wine in a saucepan over low heat.
• Saute squash in a pan over medium heat with 2 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil until tender, remove from heat.
• Meanwhile, in a large saucepan heat butter and oil and cook onions over medium until translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Add rice to the saucepan and stir.  Cook for about 5 minutes.  Don't let the rice or onions brown!
• Reduce the heat to low and add enough wine and broth to cover the rice.  Stir and move the pan often until the liquid is completely absorbed into the rice.
• Add another amount of liquid (I do a big ol' ladle full) and continue stirring and moving as before.  Continue this process until all of the liquid has been used and absorbed into the rice.  This process should take between 35 - 45 minutes. 
• Add the squash (I used about 3/4 of it b/c my squash was a monster) and stir.  About this point I realized I didn't want chunks in my risotto so I kinda just squashed them down with my wooden spoon. 
• Remove from heat and add Parm.  Season with S&P.  You can add fresh nutmeg too, but I didn't have that.
• Eat up!

If this meal doesn't get you into the Autumn Spirit (What?  It's a real thing) then nothing will.  Enjoy!

Happy {meatless} Monday!