Ingredients
- 1/2 c. acorn squash, roasted
- 2 tbsp. salted butter
- 1 c. sweet onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 c. arborio rice*
- 1/4 tsp. thyme
- 1/4 tsp. sage
- dash of cloves
- dash of nutmeg
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 c. chicken stock
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/4 c. parmesan cheese, grated
- 3 tbsp. heavy cream
Instructions
- Roast acorn squash. Place in a 350° oven. Bake for about 20 minutes or until you are able to cut squash in half. Place the two halves on a baking sheet, skin side down sprinkled with a bit of olive oil. Bake for another 20 minutes or until squash is soft. Allow to cool. Remove squash from outer peel. Mash and set aside. (This can be done up to a week in advance.)
- In a saucepan, melt butter on medium-high heat. Saute onions and garlic until translucent.
- Add rice to pan, coating with butter mixture. Add acorn squash and spices. Stir.
- Cook over medium heat, adding one cup of chicken stock at a time until liquid is absorbed. Stir often. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Before serving, remove bay leaf and stir in cheese and cream. Garnish with a sprig of fresh sage, a sprinkle of parmesan, and a dash of nutmeg.
Notes
• Instead of the traditional arborio rice, I use a mixture of short grain brown rice, pearl barley, and spelt berries. I’ve been told whole grains cancel out the heavy cream. Ha! If only.
• Interchange chicken stock for vegetable stock for a vegetarian dish.
• To reheat, place risotto in pan with stock, cooking on medium-low heat. Allow risotto to warm first before stirring, otherwise you’ll break your rice and end up with mush.
• If your rice is still crunchy after adding all the stock, add a bit more and continue to cook.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 servings
I put 1\2 cups of wine as well. SO GOOD! Skipped the cream as I did not have any and it’s still great. I used vegetable stock from a jar concentrate (pre-cooked with water), I wish I sued a bit less and used more water as mine was a bit too salty. But Still amazing!! Thank you so much for the recipe , I had that acorn squash for like a month in my fridge! And now I have like 4 meals covered for myself 😀
Wow! I made this last night and I was very pleased! Never made Risotto before. I am so glad I found your recipe. It was so easy to follow your recipe, and the results were a flavorful and perfectly creamy Risotto! Thank you SO much!
How did you add the instagram icon?
I use an image widget through wordpress and update it manually. I use the site statigram for the image source.
Hi
Your food looks great?
Had a question what lighting do you use for your phtots or set thats used?
Thank you!
Hi! I use only natural light but shoot in a very white space. I’m thinking about doing a post on this soon.
*Sigh* I reeeeeeeally need some of this risotto… I’ve been wanting it since Lauren’s post, I gotta get on that!
Beautiful post. I really want a bowl of savory right now, too!
We’re declaring squash fest at our place this weekend–pumpkin waffles, pumpkin whoopie pies, and THIS “oh my god I want it right now” risotto. We use barley in our risottos too–usually a 50/50 blend–but I’ve never tried the wheat berries. Can’t wait to try it!
Yum! I love making risotto with squash but I don’t think I’ve ever made it with acorn- I’ll put that on my to-do list!
I want a big bowl of this right now! Sounds and of course LOOKS delicious!
Looks so comforting! Wish this was my lunch:)
I say this on twitter last night and dreamt about it all night! Gorgeous pictures…looks so very good!
Risotto, squash and gorgeous photography all in one entry! I’m in blogger heaven.
Oh, you’re too sweet Melissa! PS- You make my recipes and then your photos turn out a million times better than mine!
I beg to differ. I love your pics! They woo me in every time. I especially love the shave of parmesan yours has that mine is missing. If you had a cookbook, I’d totally buy it 🙂
Now there’s an idea! Someone get her a publisher.
Looks amazing!
This sounds so good! I think I’m smitten too!