Pardon me while I pat myself on the back for this one.
Roasted butternut squash and onions, crispy pancetta, fresh sage, and risotto. That, my friends, is how you welcome fall.
To my friends and family up north: cozy up in your favorite sweatpants, force your significant other to make this risotto for you, and enjoy the magic that is fall weather.
To my friends and family in the south: I’m sorry that you don’t experience a change of seasons. But let’s be honest… you should still try this. Pretend that the temperature has dropped a few degrees. That you’ve switched from summer dresses to jeans and oversized sweatshirts. That lighting a fire in the fireplace isn’t completely out of the question. You, too, can force a relative or close friend to make this for you and have a tiny taste of fall.
**Side note: I finally splurged and bought myself a dSLR camera! I’ve had it for a few weeks now, and while I have a lot to learn, the difference in quality in astounding. Please bear with me as I experiment with things like aperture and shutter speeds.
Directions
Preheat an oven to 400 F.
After peeling a large butternut squash, slice it in half from top to bottom. (Make sure to sharpen your knife with a steel rod before attempting this. Fall and winter squash can be notoriously difficult to cut into if you’re not using a sharp knife.)
To make dicing the squash easier, I normally begin by cutting the long, thin part off first, and then moving on to the rounder part of the squash, which requires that seeds be scooped out (see below).
Slice the squash into thin strips (maybe 1/2″ wide), then turn the pieces 90-degrees and slice again.
Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds from the remaining two halves of squash, then cut into thin strips and dice.
This might seem a little time consuming if you’ve never worked with squash before, but it’s not difficult.
Next, grab a medium onion and dice it into similarly sized pieces.
Toss the diced butternut squash and onion on a baking sheet with olive oil, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the squash is soft and cooked through.
While the squash and onion are roasting, take a moment to disturb your adorable puppy who enjoys sleeping on the kitchen floor so he can be near you while you cook.
Wake up, sleepy!
He probably wasn’t thrilled with me for waking him up… but that’s just the kind of person I am.
After 25 minutes, the veggies look like this:
Do yourself a favor and do not line your baking sheet with silpat. While this is a great tool when baking cookies (it prevents the bottoms from burning), it is less ideal when trying to achieve a nice, brown surface on roasted veggies. Either line the sheet with aluminum foil or leave it bare (but greased!).
Set these aside to cool, then grab a large pot for the risotto.
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter with 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Sauté garlic for 30 seconds, then add shallots and additional onion (not the onion that you already roasted). Season with salt and pepper, then cook for approximately 5 minutes.
Pour in 2 cups of arborio rice. Let the rice toast for about 2 minutes, then deglaze the pan with 1 cup of dry white wine. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula to remove anything delicious that might be stuck. Stir the rice until the wine has been absorbed.
Add 1-2 ladlefuls of chicken stock, then continue to stir. When the stock has been absorbed, add another 1-2 ladlefuls. Repeat until the rice is fully cooked (about 18-20 minutes, depending on temperature). The trick to a really creamy risotto is to continue stirring throughout the entire cooking process.
Keep stirring, or ask someone close by (aka: husband) to assist while you pour yourself some wine. You deserve it.
While the risotto is cooking, heat a small pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the diced pancetta and cook until crispy, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and drain on a paper towel to remove excess fat.
When the risotto is almost fully cooked, toss in the roasted butternut squash and onion.
Add pancetta and chopped sage. Stir to combine, then taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.
Spoon up a heaping serving of risotto and top with additional sage (and fresh parm, if you’d like!)
So creamy. So warm. So perfect.
Don’t you just love fall?
Butternut Squash Risotto with Onion and Pancetta
Yields: 8 servings
Time: 1 hr
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and seeds removed
- ½ medium onion, diced
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For risotto:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1-2 cloves of garlic, diced
- 2 shallots, diced
- ½ medium onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups arborio rice
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 4 cups chicken stock, plus more if, needed (I use low-sodium)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 4 oz. pancetta, diced
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped, plus more for garnish
- Parmesan cheese, for slicing or grating (optional)
Instructions
- For the roasted squash and onion: Preheat oven to 400 F. Peel and remove seeds from butternut squash, then cut into ½” pieces. Toss cubed butternut squash and ½ of a diced onion with olive oil, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes, or until squash is soft and cooked through. Set aside to cool.
- For the risotto: In a large sauce pan, bring 4 cups of chicken stock to a boil. Reduce temperature to simmer.
- In a separate large pot, melt 1 tablespoon of butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Sauté garlic for 30 seconds, then add shallots and onion. Season with salt and pepper, then cook for about 5 minutes.
- Pour in 2 cups of arborio rice. Let the rice toast for approximately 2 minutes, then add 1 cup dry white wine. (Don’t forget to scrape the bottom of the pan!) Stir until the wine has been absorbed.
- Add 1-2 ladlefuls of chicken stock, then continue to stir. When the stock has been absorbed, add another 1-2 ladlefuls. Repeat until the rice is fully cooked (about 18-20 minutes, depending on temperature). The trick to a really creamy risotto is to continue stirring throughout the entire cooking process. Keep it up!
- While the risotto is cooking, heat a small pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the diced pancetta and cook until crispy, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and drain on a paper towel to remove excess fat.
- When the risotto is almost fully cooked, toss in the roasted butternut squash and onion, the crispy pancetta, and fresh chopped sage. Stir to combine, then taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.
- To serve: spoon a large portion of risotto into a bowl and top with extra sage.
