Omnivores can sprinkle the risotto with shaved Parmesan cheese and crispy pancetta for a salty, crunchy, meaty finish.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in heavy large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add squash; sprinkle with sea salt and sauté until beginning to brown, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, add chopped sage, and cook until just tender, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle Sherry wine vinegar over; toss to incorporate. Transfer squash to plate. Wipe skillet clean.
Heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in same skillet over high heat. Add chopped onions, sprinkle with sea salt, and sauté until onions are soft and beginning to brown, about 6 minutes. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until onions are soft and deep golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes; set aside. Bring 31⁄2 cups water and vegetable broth to simmer in large saucepan. Cover and keep warm over low heat.
Add arborio rice to onions in skillet. Stir until rice is slightly translucent, about 4 minutes. Add Sherry; stir until absorbed. Add 1 cup warm broth mixture; stir until almost all liquid is absorbed, about 3 minutes. Continue adding broth mixture by cupfuls until rice is just tender but still firm to bite and risotto is creamy, stirring almost constantly and adding squash after 15 minutes, about 20 minutes total. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in 6 tablespoons toasted pine nuts. Transfer squash risotto to large wide serving bowl. Sprinkle remaining toasted pine nuts over risotto.
Top risotto with shaved Parmesan and crumbled Pancetta.
Like many other reviewers, I roasted the pumpkin with the sage and vinegar, toasted the pine nuts, added some Brie and plated it topped with the pumpkin, pine nuts and pancetta. It was hit!
OK, based on the other reviews of low flavor I did change it. Definitely use Kabocha, it has more flavor than butternut. Also I increased the bacon to 1/2 pound and used a chunk of brie instead of parmesan. Brie will melt into the risotto like butter and adds tons of flavor. It was then very flavorful!!
Used this recipe as inspiration rather than a careful copy. Made the risotto and while it was simmering, put butternut squash 1" cubes in a hot oven to roast. Sauteed the pancetta and 5 min before the squash was tender - put the fresh sage on the squash and finished cooking. Removed the squash from the oven, added the sherry vinegar and pancetta. Finished the risotto with a knob of goat cheese and parmesan. Plated it with the risotto topped with the squash and a few pinenuts on top. I agree with a previous reviewer, the vinegar adds a great dimension to the squash. This is a make again recipe.
This recipe is not written perfectly, but the potential is really quite delicious. I, like other reviewers, found the cooking time listed for the squash insufficient. I made the following adjustments: used 1 tbsp of dried sage for stronger effect & seasonal availability, doubled qty sherry for added flavor, cooked the onions on higher heat than listed, to caramelize, added the squash to the cooking risotto about 1/2 way through the cooking of the rice to cook further and allow the flavors to meld, toasted the nuts, added a sprinkling of salt and pepper with every few additions of broth, and mixed in 5 slices worth freshly fried diced bacon, a generous handful of parmesan and a pat of butter at the end. Divine.
This risotto is really good. As other reviews note, it takes longer than 20 minutes for the rice to be cooked through - more like 40 minutes of fairly constant stirring. You can speed the process up a bit by increasing the heat from low to medium. Keep the risotto just under a healthy simmer.
I'll concede I made this with spelt cooked for much much longer and with more liquid that never got soft enough, but I'm discounting my own screwup and I still give it one fork. Even had the texture been great, the flavors were just way too sweet if you used kabocha, which is supposed to be the first choice option given the title of this recipe. If anything, I think arborio rice would have made the problem worse since spelt has a nuttiness that should complicate the sweetness a bit. I did not put pancetta on top, which would have helped, but the recipe claims that is optional. I even mixed some romano cheese into the risotto to help, but to no avail. I used my own homemade veggie stock, too. Don't spend the hour hacking away at the kabocha for this recipe. Not worth it.
Excellent! Lots of work, but well worth it!
This might be the best thing I've ever cooked. I made the carnivore version with cheese and meat. I bought the sherry vinegar especially for this recipe--worth it! Totally unique flavor! The one thing I changed, was that I used diced yam (orange sweet potato) instead of squash, because I hate squash. Seriously, I could eat the sweet potato with sherry vinegar combo as a side dish after step 1, and be happy. But the whole dish itself, while it took probably 90 minutes total, was luxurious. I'm trying to eat less meat, and I grilled some portobello mushrooms, and topped them with this risotto, and it was HEAVEN! And there were leftovers! Waiting for fall and cooler weather to use this as an excuse to heat up the kitchen for 90 min again!
We loved this recipe! I used fresh rosemary instead of sage, as that's what I had in my garden. I boiled the squash for a few minutes so it was easier to skin and I found that this dramatically reduced squash cooking time. I threw in several teaspoons of goat cheese at the end in lieu of parmasan and pancetta - it was great and did a great job of offsetting the sweetness. Not a true risotto but still very good.
I made this tonight and it was a huge hit with the men in my family. I have never made a risotto before, so I found the directions a little confusing. I used double the sage, and ended up putting a lid over the rice after about the first twenty minutes of cooking. The toppings of parmesan and Italian bacon are essential for success. Based on the reaction from my family, I would definitely make this again!
Yes, this is time consuming. Yes, it's worth it. I made an entire meal out of this risotto so I could focus my attention on it and not have to worry about a piece of meat to go with it. I cut the squash into pretty small pieces (maybe 1/3" instead of 1/2" pieces) and they do take a while to get soft. I didn't have sherry vinegar so I finished each step off with a tiny drizzle of balsamic, it was a nice touch. I loved cooking everything in the same pan, by the time the risotto went in there were all kinds of brown goodness on the bottom of the pan that really helped the flavor of the rice. Something about stirring a pot of risotto after a long day of work is calming, so I didn't mind the hour-plus it took to make this dish. So glad I get to eat leftovers tonight!!! Delicious!!!
So yummy! Obviously it's going to be on the sweeter side because of the nature of the squash, but the cheese really helps tone that down (I used a peccorino romano instead of the parmesan because it's what I had and it still came out great). This dish came in especially handy since my neighbor is gluten free and we wanted to have dinner together. Will definitely make again.
Shocked at the raves! This dish was very time-consuming and totally bland. We added lots of garlic, shallots and much more sage. Still tasteless! I'd never go to all the trouble again to make this. I have several risottos that FAR surpass this recipe.
love that i can buy peeled squash at the grocery store -- a super convenience for this recipe. a good twist on my usual sage-mushroom risotto. thanks!
I added both the pancetta and pine nuts to this risotto. Fabulous! I agree with the other reviewers that it does take more time than the recipe indicates to add all the broth and make the rice creamy. I cooked it for about 40 minutes as well.
The instructions do tell you when to add the squash. "Continue adding broth mixture by cupfuls until rice is just tender but still firm to bite and risotto is creamy, stirring almost constantly and adding squash after 15 minutes,..."
This recipe took me about 2.5 hours to make. I enjoy Kaoboucha squash, but peeling it and getting it into half inch squares alone can take 20-30 minutes. The other reviewers are also correct that the time required to soften the rice sufficiently is closer to 40 minutes. I think the 90 minute time estimate might work if you cook half the amount. Like all risotto's, it requires a lot of attention so you will be on your feet for a while. The dish is creamy and tasty. We enjoyed the results, but given the amount of effort required, I am unlikely to make it again. For a wine match, I would try creamy or buttery white wine such as California Chardonnay. We had a New World Sauvignon Blanc and it was far too dry for this dish. Good luck.
Loved this! Even my squash-hating husband liked it pretty well. The pine nuts add such a nice nutty crunchiness. I followed the recipe exactly but the rice took more like 40 minutes until it was creamy - maybe my heat setting was too low? Seemed like it was supposed to stay on low heat but I found that part of the recipe to be a little vague. Served it vegetarian, with cheese.
Made the vegetarian version as is - though I may have used a little extra squash. yum yum yum! It was creamy, and great tasting and still full of good stuff! Will definitively do again. everyone one in the family loved it and the left overs are delicious. The pine nuts are a great addition.
This is a very good risotto recipe. I used butternut squash. I will say that it took closer to 45 minutes (not 20!) of constant stirring and an extra cup of water/broth for the arborio rice to finish cooking properly.
The toasted pine nuts are a surprising and delicious addition to squash risotto - so don't skip them! I also love how flexible this recipe is.