Ok, ok. Enough with the desperately trying to hold on to summer. It is officially FALL and time to get COZY! So I made risotto for you. Literally the most “fall” thing ever, loaded with comforting, sweet roasted butternut squash, creamy blue cheese and crispy sage leaves. Vegetarian food never tasted so good. You might actually forget that meat at meal times was ever a thing after you try this.

Risotto is the ultimate comfort food. It’s therapeutic to make, with all the stirring, and soo creamy and indulgent to eat. This will literally warm you from the inside. Not that I personally need much warming, with it still being in the 90’s here in Dallas. But I’m sure that some of you are reading from colder climes where the chunky knits and winter boots have already made an appearance!

Even if it is still warm where you are, lighten this up with a lil’ arugula salad on the side and you’re ready to go. There’s also a hidden bonus to this recipe. If you have any butternut squash left over, or you decided to roast two just for the hell of it… SOUP! I’ll be hitting you up with a spicy butternut squash soup soon that uses the roasted squash from this recipe as the base. It is SO EASY. Just you wait.

Speaking of fall, I’m getting all excited to start cracking open the tins of pumpkin, making all the spicy lattes you can drink, spiking some hot apple cider with a little bourbon. You know how it goes. And then before you know it we’ll be talking turkey and Thanksgiving! I cannot wait to get all my cozy knits and coats out when I get back to England in October. I love getting all wrapped up and heading out into the cold for a refreshing walk, then coming back home to a steaming mug of something delicious. Long Sunday afternoons spent curled up in front of an old black and white movie, consuming my bodyweight in popcorn and Chai Spiced Hot Chocolate. Oh yeahhhhh.

Recipe

• Serves: 6
• Time:
  • Prep: 20 mins
  • Cook: 1 hr

    Ingredients

• 1 large butternut squash
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• 12 leaves sage
• 2 cups grated parmesan
• 1 lb risotto rice such as arborio
• 1 egg yolk
• 60 oz chicken broth (use vegetable broth to keep this vegetarian)
• 1/2 lb blue cheese such as gorgonzola, cubed
• 1 large onion
• 2 stalks celery
• 4 cloves garlic

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425. Begin by peeling and cubing the squash into 1-inch cubes. Discard any seeds or stringy bits from the interior.
2. Toss the cubed squash with 2 tbsp olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper.
3. Spread the squash out on a parchment lined baking sheet and roast for 50-60 minutes, until soft in the middle and crisp on the outside. Be sure to turn them every now any then so they brown evenly.
4. Meanwhile, tip the onion, garlic and celery into the food processor and blend until smooth. Heat 1 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp olive oil in a dutch oven. Heat your broth in a separate pot over a low heat.
5. Cook the onion mixture in the butter and oil over a medium heat until all the liquid has evaporated and they are soft. Add another tablespoon of butter and the rice. Stir to coat it well and cook for a minute or two.
6. Add a ladleful of broth to the rice and stir until it has all been absorbed. Finely chop 6 sage leaves and add to the rice.
7. Keep adding the broth a ladleful at a time until the rice is just al dente (you may not need all the broth). Make sure you stir fairly frequently or the rice will stick and won’t cook evenly.
8. When the rice is al dente, turn off the heat and add the egg yolk and 1 cup parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste, add half the butternut squash and stir well.
9. Meanwhile, heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and fry the remaining sage leaves for about 20 seconds on each side until crispy.
10. Stir the blue cheese through just before serving, and top with the remaining parmesan and butternut squash.