Mr M got carried away with the shopping this week. He bought 2 large Butternut Squashes… which he then has failed to do anything with!
I consulted Rose, and settled on a nice risotto.

—————————————————————————————

Butternut Squash and Sage Risotto recipe – taken from Rose Elliot’s New Complete Vegetarian

 

Ingredients

 

1.2l (2 pints) vegetable stock – I use this homemade bouillon from 101cookbooks/ River Cottage

75g (3oz) butter

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed or finely chopped (or in a jar of Lazy Garlic!)

1/2 head of celery, finely chopped – I didn’t have any so I left this out

350g (120z) risotto rice – Arborio or Carnaroli

125ml (4floz) dry Martini – I left this out entirely, we have no Martini, no wine, no anything alcoholic

salt and freshly ground black pepper

125g Parmesan style cheese, grated – I didn’t have any hard cheese so just used cheddar, I tend to stock up whenever I visit Sainsbury’s and get some Sainsbury’s Basics Italian Hard Cheese, just the same as Parmesan/ Grana Padano etc. but without the rennet!

450g (1lb) butternut squash (peel on weight) – my squash was about 1kg, so I roasted the whole thing and will do something else with the rest, perhaps some soup?

1-2 tbsp fresh sage, chopped

 

Method

 

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Brush the squash with olive oil and roast for 30 minutes, or until tender.

Meanwhile, heat 25g (1oz) of the butter with the olive oil in a large saucepan (I used my saute pan), and add the onion, garlic, and celery. Stir and fry gently, with a lid on the pan, for 15 minutes or until they are tender but not browned. Stir often.

Add the rice, stirring over the heat for 1-2 minutes, or until the rice looks glossy.

Make up the stock in a pan and set it over a gentle heat to keep warm.

Pour in the Martini (or some broth) over the rice, once it has bubbled away, start to add the hot broth, a ladleful at a time, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next, stirring well.

Once all the broth has been added, add the remaining butter, and the cheese and stir well.

Cut the roasted squash into cubes, removing the skin and pips as you go. Add the cubed squash and chopped sage to the pan, and stir through.

Allow to stand for 2 minutes to allow it to become extra creamy.

Serve.

With some extra cheese on top if you fancy!

Yummy! Mr M declared it to be the best risotto ever.

Thanks Mr.