For the Love of Risotto

I come clean!  In our house it’s the Rvvv who cooks the rice (that and a couple more dishes such as Yorkshire Puddings and an excellent Ragu).  It’s not that I cannot make it.  It’s just that I get bored part way through and unconsciously meander into some other activity until the smell pervading the kitchen (reminiscent of bonfire night) brings me back to the present time.  This, of course, ends in tears - or rather a milky, starchy mass of tasteless mush some of which would by choice prefer to stay on the bottom of the pan forever. 

When it comes to Risotto however this is not a problem because it is by definition rather needy (i.e. requiring constant attention during cooking).   This is a good thing because there is no opportunity for boredom and there are few things that compare with a good risotto.  Any dish that can taste so nice with just a few ingredients – and most of them pretty healthy – has got to be good.  Even better, you can make Arancini (fabulous moist mouthfuls of risotto heaven in a crisp coating) with the leftovers so this makes two dishes in one! 

The sweet Butternut Squash, salty Feta cheese and fragrant Sage in this recipe are great for both the Risotto and the Arancini and just a little bit different to the norm. 

When you serve the leftovers to your family or friends, don’t worry about telling them that you’ve put your feet up for a couple of hours with your book and let them continue to think you’ve been slaving away for hours in the kitchen – surely it’s not a lie if they simply jump to that conclusion themselves?

1 Onion finely chopped
2 cloves of Garlic finely chopped
25g Butter
2 litres good fresh stock (I like to use Chicken unless I am serving up to Vegetarians)
400g Risotto Rice
100g unsalted butter, cold and diced
100g Feta Cheese
Handful of fresh Sage (finely sliced)
1 Butternut Squash (peeled and chopped into small mouth-size pieces)
25g Parmesan or Grand Padano
1 Glass of Wine (pour it as though you were drinking it yourself so a decent glass full)

First of all, roast the butternut squash with the sage and garlic in the oven for around 20 minutes with a drizzle of olive oil mixed into it.  It should be just cooked through but still al-dente.  Remove from oven and set aside.

To prepare the risotto, bring the stock to a boil and leave it simmering on the stove next to you.

Sauté the onion in 25g butter in a large pan until it is just starting to go translucent, you do not want to brown it.  Add the rice and stir through trying to get all the rice coated in the butter-onion mixture.  Add the glass of wine and continue to stir frequently while the wine reduces to practically nothing, this will remove the alcohol but leave the lovely wine taste. 

Start adding the stock a ladleful at a time and stir to avoid the rice sticking.  As the stock is absorbed by the rice keep adding stock a ladleful at a time (I did warn you this is a needy dish).  After about 10 minutes you can add the roasted butternut squash and sage to the rice mixture and continue to add the stock as before combining as you go by stirring the risotto.

At this point you want to start keeping an eye on the risotto in terms of how much longer it will need cooking.  It will normally take between 18-25 minutes to cook depending on the risotto rice.  You should be looking for a slightly al-dente texture with some looseness to the dish.  When you think it is just about where it should be, add the feta cheese and seasoning and stir to combine.  Be careful when adding salt as the feta is salty anyway so you may not need as much as you would normally use.

To finish, grate in some parmesan (to taste) and the cold cubes of butter (again amount to suit your own taste).  Grab a spoon or fork and dive in.

Now the chances are you may have some left.  If you do, leave it to cool in the refrigerator overnight and then the next day scoop out dessert spoonfuls roll in egg and then in breadcrumbs and deep fry until golden brown.  


From a gorgeous Risotto to Aranchini in a couple of steps!  These are great either hot or at room temperature and make a nice nibble with drinks.