Bite Me

Butternut Squash Risotto with Bacon Crumbles

I have the house to myself tonight and in cooking terms that can mean anything from a cheese and salt and vinegar crisp sarnie to something more adventurous. Tonight I’m going for the latter, not complex but a dish that requires attention. I love making risotto, it’s calming, therapeutic even, the constant stirring lets me mull over what I’ve got done, what’s still to do, at this moment my mind is taken up with the Christmas shopping list and whether it’s wrong to start on the wine this early, after all I need a glass for the risotto.

I’m also using the chicken stock made from poaching the chicken in the previously posted recipe but you can use any good stock for this, watch the cubes though, I find most of them too salty and they overpower the other ingredients. The measure for the stock is vague as it varies, however the dish should be slightly runny rather than dry.
I’m sure with more care this dish could look prettier but it tastes amazing, warming and a perfect dish to ward off winter chills.

Ingredients

1 small butternut squash, peeled and chopped into 2 cm ish chunks
3 handfuls arborio rice
3 cloves garlic, crushed in their skins
1 dried mild chilli chopped (I used a dried cayenne)
Olive oil
5 sage leaves, fresh if you can get them
Salt and pepper

1 large onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 glass dry white wine
1 1/2 pints hot chicken stock,
Parmesan cheese
Small knob butter

Method

• Heat oven to 180 degrees and add cubes of peeled butternut squash, 3 fresh sage leaves, garlic and chopped dried chilli to baking dish, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and leave to roast in oven for 30 mins.
• On a shallow tray, bake 6 rashers of dry cure bacon until brown and dry, about 6 minutes in a hot oven. Remove both squash and bacon and leave to cool.
• In a large shallow frying pan, heat oil and add chopped onion, fry until softened. Add rice and stir with onions for 2 minutes.
• Add wine and stir until the pan is almost dry.
• Add a ladle of chicken stock at a time, stirring until almost reduced before adding the next. After 15 minutes or so, test the grains of rice, they should be soft but with texture and the liquid should be thick and oozing. Once the rice is cooked, add the butternut squash, season to taste and add parmesan cheese to taste.
• Crumble bacon with fingers over the top of the dish and serve.