Photo: Saffron Risotto with Butternut Squash Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash (2 pounds)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 6 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
- 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
- 2 ounces pancetta, diced
- 1/2 cup minced shallots (2 large)
- 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice (10 ounces)
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 teaspoon saffron threads
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Peel the butternut squash, remove the seeds, and cut it into 3/4-inch cubes. You should have about 6 cups. Place the squash on a sheet pan and toss it with the olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, tossing once, until very tender. Set aside.
Meanwhile, heat the chicken stock in a small covered saucepan. Leave it on low heat to simmer.
In a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the pancetta and shallots on medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until the shallots are translucent but not browned. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains with butter. Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes. Add 2 full ladles of stock to the rice plus the saffron, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Stir, and simmer until the stock is absorbed, 5 to 10 minutes. Continue to add the stock, 2 ladles at a time, stirring every few minutes. Each time, cook until the mixture seems a little dry, then add more stock. Continue until the rice is cooked through, but still al dente, about 30 minutes total. Off the heat, add the roasted squash cubes and Parmesan cheese. Mix well and serve.
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By Honeyeyes1
on January 27, 2012
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VERY GOOD! THE BUTTERNUT SQUASH ALMOST NEVER MADE IT IN THE RISOTTO AS I KEPT PICKING AT IT. :
By Jeff Home
Hudsonville, MI
on January 13, 2012
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My brother and I tried this tonight, it was amazing! My brother, who tends to overdo any good thing went overboard on the saffron. Even with that, it was very good. We decided to try it again later but with either the normal amount of saffron, or a little less. The oven roasted squash was amazing, in fact I'll try that again as a normal side for other dishes. We both thought that roasting longer and turning more often would put a better "crust" not the squash, making a better tasting flavor. We chose to dice 2 oven roast chicken breasts into then risotto when we added the squash. Try this recipe, it is VERY good!!
By jdhaefner
on January 03, 2012
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This was my first time to make Risotto after watching it on Hell's Kitchen for years - EVERYONE loved it!! My teenage daughter, my gourmet cook sister-in-love, my lovely husband!! It was so tasty!! It was also my first time to use Pancetta!! What fun flavors!! I bought some frozen Butternut Squash from Sam's Club - just made that part a bit less time consuming!! Did everything according to directions - perfect!!
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