Vegan Butternut Risotto
Hooray for the season of carbs! Since it's autumn here in New Zealand, the colder temperatures are starting to set in, the clocks have gone back, and the daylight is waning. That means snuggly evenings eating comfort foods are just part of life now. Ohhh well, looks like we'll be eating some nice hearty food in the coming months.
I'm not even mad.
This risotto is inspired by Vegan Richa who knows how to cook a mean risotto. We've made it our own with some tweaks and edits, but we're happy to share it just as the leaves turn and the sweaters start coming out.
BALLIN' BUTTERNUT RISOTTO
PREP TIME TOTAL TIME
10 MINUTES 45 MINUTES
SERVINGS: 4
AMOUNT PER SERVING:
Calories: 277
Fat: 15.3g
Saturated fat: 5.7g
Carbohydrates: 32.1g
Sugar: 4.3g
Sodium: 379mg
Fiber: 2.7g
Protein: 3.6g
INGREDIENTS
2 cups butternut squash, cubed 1/2"
2 cups baby spinach
2 cups arborio rice
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 tbsp almond milk
2 tsp sage, fresh, chopped (save some for garnish)
1/2 cup water
salt & pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Pre-heat oven to 190˚C/375˚F.
2. Halve and quarter a large butternut squash, take out seeds*, and chop into smaller 1/2" cubes.
3. Place in bowl and toss with 1 tbsp oil and nutmeg.
4. Bake butternut squash for 20-30 minutes until the cubes start to brown around edges.
5. While cubes are baking, heat 1 tbsp oil in a large pan. Add onion and garlic. Cook for 3-5 minutes until soft. Add rice and stir to coat in oil.
6. Next add white wine and simmer until wine has cooked out, stirring occasionally for approximately 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
7. While rice is cooking, remove butternut squash cubes from oven and place in blender with milk, cayenne pepper, and water. This may need to be done in portions depending on the size of your blender. Blend until all cubes have been pureed.
8. In a pot, add stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Start to stir in the butternut squash puree until a soup consistency is reached, add more water if it is too thick.
9. One cup at a time, start to add the puree to rice mixture, allowing the rice to absorb soup before adding more.
10. While the rice is simmering for the final 5 to 10 minutes, heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a shallow pan and cook spinach with sage, salt, and pepper until wilted.
11. Gently fold spinach into rice mixture and remove from heat.
12. Garnish with extra sage leaves and serve with optional seeds* from squash.
*Note: If you would like the butternut squash seeds included in this dish, wash and pat dry, toss in a bowl with oil, 1/2 tsp chili, 1 tsp cumin, and bake on a tray for 10-15 minutes in a pre-heated oven.
We baked the butternut seeds along with some kick'n kale chips. Recipe coming soon!