Scary Good Squash and Sage Risotto

Halloween, full moon, Saturday night. Big plans? COVID. So we stay in and cook perhaps one of the most scrumptious risottos one can enjoy. The star of the winter squash lineup - the butternut - teams up with sage, a good dose of pecorino cheese (or parma, we’re not biased), a touch of garlic, and the perfect marriage of risotto to chicken broth, to create a simply epic combination.

Oh and do your local farmers a solid by sourcing the squash and sage from the greenmarket. 

What to do with the leftovers you ask? Fry it up, bubble-and-squeak style, and enjoy it on toast with an egg on top (like, obviously).

Serves 4 (or 2, with ample leftovers for aforementioned bubble and squeak)

What’s in it

1 butternut squash, around 2.5-3 pounds

1 cup risotto rice

1 garlic clove, crushed

4 cups chicken broth

1 bunch sage

1 cup pecorino romano cheese, grated, plus more for serving

What you do with it

Preheat the oven to 375F. Halve your squash, scoop out the innards (save the seeds!) and then score each half, around an inch apart longways and sideways. Place the squash on a baking sheet, smother generously in EVOO, salt and pepper. Pop into the oven for 1.15h.

When your squash is around half way through cooking, it’s risotto time. Heat a large saucepan on medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons of EVOO. Add the rice, along with the garlic, and stir, cooking for 5 or so minutes until the rice begins to brown.

Add 1 cup of chicken broth, stirring continually. Now, as the broth is absorbed by the rice, continue to add the chicken broth steadily, stirring all the while.

Meanwhile, once the squash is cooked, scoop the flesh out of the skin. Add it to a large pan on low heat (with more EVOO). Tear in the sage leaves, and once the risotto is ready, add it to the pan, along with the pecorino, and mix everything together. Take it off the heat and serve immediately.