Roasted Butternut squash Risotto

Risotto. One of my favourite things to cook, and one of the first things that I learned how to, actually. When I was small (that actually did not change at all, but I mean a kid, you know?)

during summer, my father would always take us on a boat trip. He loved to explore the more "southern" part of our beautiful Adriatic sea, filled with over thousands of islands. One in particular, which was his favourite was a teeny island called Smokvica. Located in the Kornati National Park (which consists out of 89 islands in total) this small island has a few houses, and a restaurant. The coolest part - only reachable by boat. It's definitely not one of those tourist attractions, since it's well hidden. For that particular reason, my father loved it.

I have lots of nice memories from that place, but the shrimp risotto has to be my favourite.

I often craved that same risotto at home, so my father taught me how to make it.

Whether its seafood, mushrooms, squash, or any other vegetable for that matter - the base is always the same. Even though risotto is Italian, it is very much present in Mediterranean cuisines, especially in Croatia.

Let's talk rice!

The type of rice which you are using is THE most important thing. Risotto should always be creamy and almost velvety, which is achieved when using a high-starch type of rice. It's normally a short grain of white rice, which will absorb the liquid that you pour into it, and in turn, release some of its starch to produce that velvety texture which marries all the ingredients together. This is the exact reason why you want these specific types of rice!

The most famous ones being Arborio, Carnaroli and Maratelli.

The next ingredient(s) for your base are your veggies. Now here, you can go with the soffritto route, or you can just use onion/shallots. I tend to use only onion and shallots when I don't want the soffritto to overpower the dish. You can of course use only onion, but I find that shallots aren't as harsh as onion can be, so I sometimes use both. The most important being to mince the onion as finely as you can, so it cooks evenly, and almost disintegrates into the rice.

Once you have your base, you can get on with choosing what you want the main ingredients to be, next to the rice. Then you of course have your liquids. Normally, you first pour in some wine, wait for it to evaporate the alcohol - and then continue on with a type of stock, stirring continually and waiting for the rice to absorb all the liquid. Once it reaches that point, you add more liquid (just enough to cover the rice) and continue with stirring. Very important note!

Do not vigorously stir, as that can damage the rice. I even dare to say that you slowly caress it with a wooden spoon.

Now that I've covered most, let's go into the recipe, shall we?

INGREDIENTS (serves 2 for a main course)

300g Arborio rice (or any other risotto rice)
400g Butternut squash, peeled and chopped into small cubes
4 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
1/2 onion, peeled and finely minced
2 small shallots, peeled and finely minced (or just use one big onion)
200 ml white wine of your choice
800 ml chicken/vegetable stock, approx.
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
8 - 10 fresh sage leaves
2 - 3 tablespoons olive oil, approx.
1 tablespoon butter
50g freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, approx.
salt & pepper to taste

Let's start with the squash. Peel and chop into small cubes, and set in a bowl with the garlic. Add the sage, a swirl or two of olive oil, and season with salt & pepper. Preheat your oven to 200°C, and roast for approximately 40 minutes. You can broil for the last 5 minutes or so, if you want the tops slightly charred.

Next, chop up your onions and shallots. Use a food processor if you have one, just make sure that your onion doesn't turn into a mush. After your squash has been roasting for about 10 - 15 minutes, add your onions into a wide pan, set on medium heat. The idea is to use something wide, which will provide enough space for all the rice to cook evenly.

Sauté your onions with some olive oil, salt & pepper, until translucent - then add in your rice. Fry off for a minute or two to warm it up, then pour in your wine. The heat should evaporate the alcohol, leaving you with the body - flavour of the wine itself. Once the liquid evaporates, add a little bit of your stock. As I mentioned previously, you want to keep your eyes peeled on the pan, stirring constantly. Every time you see the liquid is absorbed, add some more. Don't cook it on high heat, as you're risking to overcooking the rice, leaving you with a mushy risotto. You want it to bubble away on medium heat, so that by the time it's done, you still have that nice al dente bite to the rice.

And that's pretty much it! Stir, add liquid, wait until it evaporates, repeat. Do so for around 20 minutes or so - you'll have to use your instinct on this one.

Right before the end, you can add in 1/3 of your squash whole, the other mashed (with the garlic), and save the last one for the topping.

The last step is to mantecare your risotto. This essentially means to remove it from the heat, adding butter and parmesan to the top, covering it for 2 minutes while waiting for it to melt, and then bringing it all together so that the sauce can be emulsified.

What you are essentially doing with this process with is enriching the final velvety texture.

Serve and eat it while it's still warm!