I love risotto.

I LOVE risotto.

I LOVE RISOTTO.

Did I mention that I really, really love risotto? Man, oh man, is this stuff good.

It wasn’t long ago that I finally tried risotto. I saw multiple recipes on food websites and blogs and finally decided I needed to see what they hype was all about. So happy I finally did.

I also love butternut squash so the combination of the two was a no-brainer.  (I know I posted another butternut dish not that long ago-  but I promise more butternut squash will do nothing but make you happy.)

The dish is perfect for the fall and winter and will warm you up on a chilly night. It is rich (as risotto is meant to be) but the squash prevents it from being overly heavy. I also don’t add cream to my risotto (I’m sorry if this offends some die-hard risotto lovers) so that helps as well.

I recently made this for my friend Abbie when she came over to watch Gone With the Wind with me. She is a huge fan of the book and the movie and it has been so much fun to discuss it all with her. And I promised her that we would watch the movie once I finished the book- So she brought the movie and wine and I provided dinner. She gave her seal of approval on the risotto- I think you will too!

I apologize that I don’t have more step-by-step photos of the process. But I was attempting to make the dish, keep my bird in the oven from overdoing itself (translation: I was making a roast chicken and didn’t want it to dry out) and keep my kitchen from looking like a bomb had gone off for when company arrived. Picture taking was somehow missed in all of that. But I love risotto (please see top of blog post) so I’m sure I’ll be making another version sometime soon. I’ll try to post more photos then.

Butternut Squash Risotto

• 2 c. roasted and mashed butternut squash
• 2 tbls. butter
• ½ onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/3 c. Arborio rice
• 4 c. chicken stock/broth
• 1 c. water
• ¾ c. grated parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Begin by heating the broth and water in a pot and heat until the liquid begins to simmer gently.

2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in large stockpot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook for ~5 minutes, until the onions become translucent.

3. Add the rice to the onions and garlic and continuously stir, cooking until the rice becomes glossy from the butter, (~5 minutes).

4. Turn the heat to medium-low. Ladle ~1 c. of broth into the rice. Stir until mostly absorbed. Add in half of the butternut squash, stirring until combined.

5. Repeat the steps, ladling in broth and stirring until mostly combined, then adding the remainder of the squash.

6. Continue to gradually ladle in the liquid, stirring contiuously after each addition until all of the broth has been added and absorbed.

7. The risotto has finished cooking when the rice is soft to eat but retains a somewhat firm bite. Stir in parmesan cheese and add salt and pepper to taste.

8. Serve immediately.