Butternut Squash Risotto

The next adventure I attempted is butternut squash risotto. How many of you are afraid to tackle the beast of risotto?! The stirring, the how long do I have to stir, and hello did I mention the stirring???? Trust me the end result is worth it!

The Recipe: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/butternut-squash-risotto/

• 1/2 whole Butternut Squash, Peeled, Seeded, And Diced. [I did a whole butternut squash but was a smaller one]

• 3 Tablespoons Butter, divided

• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

• Black Pepper To Taste

• 1/4 teaspoon Chili Powder

• 1/2 whole Diced Onion

• 1-1/2 cup Arborio Rice

• 6 cups (approximately) Vegetable Broth [I did 5 cups broth 1/2 cup dry white wine]

• Salt And Pepper, to taste

• 1/8 teaspoon Turmeric

• 1/4 cup Heavy Cream (less If Desired)

• 1/2 cup Parmesan Shavings (more For Serving)

• Finely Minced Parsley, For Serving

Heat 1 tablespoon butter and olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add squash and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and chili powder. Cook for several minutes, turning gently with a spatula, until squash is deep golden brown and tender (but not falling apart.) Remove to a plate and set aside. Heat broth in a saucepan over low heat. Keep warm. Add 2 tablespoons butter to the same skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until translucent. Add Arborio rice and stir, cooking for 1 minute. Reduce heat to low. In 1-cup increments, begin adding broth to the skillet, stirring to combine and gently stirring as the broth is absorbed. As soon as the liquid disappears, add in another cup to cup-and-a-half of broth. Continue this process, stirring gently as the broth incorporates and the rice starts to become tender. Add salt, pepper along the way. Taste the rice after about 5 cups of broth have been absorbed and see what the consistency is. Add another 1 to 2 cups of broth as needed to get the rice to the right consistency: it should be tender with just a little bit of "bite" left to it. When the rice is tender, add in the cooked squash and turmeric and stir it in gently. Add the cream and Parmesan shavings and stir until it's just combined. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed. ​

Have y'all tried any of the pioneer woman's recipes???? I haven't made one I haven't liked...but sometimes the CALORIES in her recipes are kind of crazy so I only make them every once in a while (Like her mashed potatoes which have at least one whole stick of butter and a block of cream cheese). Back on topic...

This recipe seemed fairly straight forward and I made only one adjustment to the recipe. It calls for 5-6 cups of broth, but in my mind and previous experience, along with searching other recipes, dry white wine is essential to risotto. Risotto is made by stirring a cup of liquid at a time to arborio rice until the rice has absorbed nearly 5 cups of liquid and is creamy. So I replaced 1/2 cup of the broth with 1/2 cup of dry white wine. I put the wine in first and let it absorb then followed the recipe with the remaining broth. Plus if you pour wine for a recipe, you can pour a glass for yourself...Right?

I enjoyed the flavors of this recipe! Roasting the butternut squash in butter, oil, some chili powder, salt and pepper adds wonderful flavors. When stirring in the liquid it is very important to season with salt and pepper. All the yummy stuff at the end, cheese, cream, etc, but more specifically the turmeric, adds a wonderful flavor and its got great health benefits!

My only other "issue" if you can even call it that is the time on the recipe. It says 10 minutes prep one hour cooking. Now I know I'm not a professional or trained by any means BUT I feel like if you are going to put a prep time or cook time on a recipe it should be semi accurate to the everyday cook. Butternut squash is a pain in the butt to peel and slice in its nature, so that takes more time than they said for prep. Also, to make sure the butternut squash softened takes a little longer. It says that it will be about 45 minutes of stirring for the liquid and that could very well be true, but it definitely took me longer than 45 minutes to get all the liquid absorbed. It also states that after the 5 cups that you could add 1-2 additional cups for the rice to reach the correct "consistency". I added a total of 5.5 cups to reach the soften but still have a bite consistency the recipe calls for!

The next time I make this, I am thinking of roasting some pine nuts to sprinkle on top for some texture and a roasted flavor.

Risotto can be daunting. It can be scary. BUT I'm here to tell you, you can do it and impress your friends and family! Try it out and tell me your thoughts? What are you afraid of with risotto? Have you tried it before? What's your favorite kind?