Butternut Squash Risotto
Posted by in Food
This is one of my favorite fall dishes. I make it every year. It’s hearty, warm, smoky, rich, and cheesy. It freezes well also. The kids don’t like this very much and Mr. MarthaAndMe is lukewarm about it, but I could eat this every night and be a happy camper.
Peel and cut one butternut squash into even 1 inch pieces. Roast on a baking sheet with a few tbsp of olive oil at 425 for about half an hour, until it is soft and beginning to brown.
Start with 4 ounces of chopped pancetta (you can use bacon if you prefer). Cook it in a large pot. Remove the pancetta when lightly browned, leaving grease. Add 1 chopped white onion, adding a little olive oil if necessary. Cook until translucent.
Add 1 cup risotto and stir to coat it with the oil and onion. Cook for about 2 minutes. Begin adding chicken stock, following instructions on your risotto package for how much water and/or stock to use (I use mostly stock with some water). Add salt and pepper to taste and 1 tbsp thyme. Cook until risotto is done. Add the squash and pancetta. Stir until heated through. Add 8 ounces of cubed fontina cheese. Stir and serve.
To die for. A bowl of this on a fall evening and I feel comfy and cozy and well fed!
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This looks wonderful, I’ll have to try it. I make a baked pumpkin risotto and it has some butternut squash or pumpkin chunks in it too. My family seems to like it, but it makes a lot. I never thought to freeze it! Thanks!
This dish is one of our household standards too, but we tend to use blue cheese instead of fontina. Mmmm, blue cheese!
Bleu cheese is a bit too strong for me, although I like little tastes of it.
That sounds good too.
Oh, man! This sounds amazing. Will definitely have to try. Thanks so much.
I’ve really been LOVING butternut squash this fall. Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Me too. It’s just the right thing to eat in the fall, isn’t it?
it’d be fun to experiment with different sorts of cheeses, I think.
What a great idea to mix butternut squash and risotto. I love fall flavors, colors.
Love butternut squash! I’d like to try this recipe sans pancetta and using veggie stock in place of chicken stock. Yum!
Yes. I’ve tried it with monterey jack and it was good, but fontina is my fave
I like this recipe and am saving it – but do you think I could prepare it with vegetarian bacon?
I’ve never had vegetarian bacon. I think you could. Is vegetarian bacon smoky? Because the pancetta gives it a nice smoky flavor.
This looks wonderful, YUM!
With the cold weather on its way, I’ll have to add this to my recipe file. Looks delish – and I love butternut squash. YUM.
I’ve not found vegetarian bacon to work too well in this sort of recipe as the kinds I’ve seen do not render out fat as pancetta or bacon do. toasting some spices and or onion in a bit of oil might be a a way to go — works for me with some recipes. not the same smoky flavor though. I use grilled vegetables in risotto and they work well, have not tried them with butternut squash but I think it’d be a good combination.
That sounds like a good suggestion. Thanks.
I have a to-die-for recipe for a butternut squash pasta dish that is rich and luscious. I was just looking at it the other day. Anyone want the recipe?
I would
Marthaandme, I found the recipe that I referenced above. Go to the Food and Wine Magazine site and type in Cavatelli with Spicy Winter Squash. It’s a recipe by Batali. It is divine. Also, I have made an Everyday Food recipe called “baked shells with winter squash”. It’s still posted on Martha Stewart’s site. I brought it to a family who had a sick family member and needed food. With a salad & some homemade brownies, it fed a family of five, w/ three boys!! The mom told me that two of the boys were picky eaters and they gobbled it up. And even though it says froz. squash puree, I’m sure you could cut up a squash, boil it till soft, and puree it yourself in the blender. Happy eating!
Thank you for these Alene! I’m going to print them out.