A couple of weeks ago, I cooked Butternut Squash & Kale Quesadillas. The same day, because I had hacked into a whole butternut squash and wanted to use it all up, I also whipped up a batch of risotto using the other half of the squash. When both butternut squash dishes were done, I honestly couldn’t decide which one I liked more, so I sorta ate both for dinner.
It was my birthday! And calories don’t count on one’s birthday!
I wound up making a huge amount of risotto, and had leftovers in the fridge for a few days. During those few days, I can’t count the number of times I reached a spoon into the fridge, retrieved a bite of risotto, and gobbled it up cold. And I won’t even mention the helpings I microwaved. It was so irresistibly good, I just couldn’t get enough.
Start by cutting up a butternut squash.
Note: I’m using the same series of butternut squash-dicing photos I used for the Butternut Squash & Kale Quesadillas since I did those two recipes on the same day. In the event someone happens upon this post without seeing the other one, I wanted the directions to be here, too.
First, lop off the top of the squash…
Then lop off the bottom.
Use a potato or vegetable peeler to peel off the skin, which comes off really easily.
Keep working on the skin…
Until you see no more sign of it. Just pure, unadulterated butternut squash.
You can throw this away if you want, or throw it in the compost heap.
Now, cut the squash in half where the skinner part meets the larger part.
Slice both pieces down the middle…
Then use a spoon to scoop the seeds and pulp out of the larger pieces. (The other end of the squash doesn’t have any seeds/pulp, so you won’t have to worry about that.)
Slice the chunks of squash into large slices…
Then stack them up…
And cut the stacks into sticks.
Then rotate the sticks and cut them into a nice, neat dice!
No matter what your chunks look like, just cut them into sticks and cut the sticks into a dice…
Until the whole dang squash is diced.
Now, to cook the squash, throw some butter and olive oil into a big ol’ skillet…
And throw in the squash. I actually wound up doing two skillets because I wanted the squash to get some nice color and not be crowded.
Sprinkle a good amount of salt in the skillet.
Then add a good amount of pepper.
And then some chili powder, just to give it a little kickarooni.
I just decided I’m going to use the word “kickarooni” at least fourteen times this week.
Wish me luck.
Cook the squash over high heat, using a spatula to turn it over gently from time to time, until it’s nice and deep golden brown.
Remove it to a plate and set it aside for a bit.
That was actually the plate I wound up using for the Butternut Squash and Kale Quesadillas, as the squash held together more. This was the plate I designated for the risotto, because the mushiness would only make things more divine.
In the same skillet I used to cook the squash, I added a little extra butter…
Then I threw in some chopped onion, stirred it around, and cooked it a bit.
Risotto is made with Arborio rice. I always have some in my pantry, because to me there’s nothing more tragic than having a hankering for risotto and finding you don’t have any Arborio rice.
I measured about a cup-and-a-half and poured it right into the skillet with the onions.
This’ll make a nice big quantity of risotto. That Arborio swells, man.
Stir it around and cook it over medium-low heat for about a minute…
Then grab the broth. I usually use chicken broth for risotto, but the grocery store in town has been carrying this vegetable broth…and it’s perfect for non-meaty things.
Oh, and another thing: It’s best to heat the broth before you begin to add it to the risotto. But I’m lazy and sometimes I don’t like to go to the trouble of emptying the broth into a saucepan and waiting for it to heat up.
So I just take my chances.
Yep, that’s me. A risk taker in the kitchen. Yep. Uh huh.
So for those of you who’ve never made risotto: The gist of it is, you add a total of about five to six cups of broth to the rice, about a cup or so at a time, over the period of 35 to 45 minutes…sometimes a little longer. The rice gradually absorbs the liquid, then you add more. This was the first addition of broth.
Stir it around and let it cook gently…
Then, within several minutes, you’ll notice that the liquid is starting to disappear.
When most of the liquid has been absorbed…
It’s time to stir in more.
Stir it around gently while it cooks…
Adding more broth when the liquid is all absorbed.
Along the way, add a little salt and pepper…
And keep at it until the rice is tender but still has a teeny bit of a bite to it. I always taste the risotto and check the texture. If it’s too firm, I just add another cup or so of broth and reevaluate!
This is pretty perfect right here…
So I added the whole plate of cooked squash. Mmmmmm!
As I stirred it in, it seemed just a little bit too sticky. So I splashed in just a little more broth to get it to a nice consistency. It was still really hot, so it continued to absorb some of the liquid.
Then, because I love it and because it adds a really lovely golden color to food, I added just a small sprinkle of turmeric.
Oh, and one other thing. Because I love it and because…well, I love it, I added a tiny splash of heavy cream. I’m talking maybe 3 tablespoons.
Or 4.
Or…
Never mind.
I also added another small sprinkle of chili powder, just to give the risotto a little edge.
And at the very end, stir in lots of Parmesan shavings…
And a good amount of minced parsley.
Tada!
And now. If I may tell you something about this risotto. May I? Thank you.
It…is…phenomenally delicious. Creamy. Butternut squashy. So satisfying. And a little goes a long, long way; this skillet would feed an army, especially if you had a meat main course.
Enjoy this, guys!
Here’s the handy dandy printable:
