Recipe: Vegan Butternut Squash Risotto

I love butternut squash this time of year.  One of my good friends came to visit from Arizona and she eats vegan.  I wanted to find a dish that would work with her diet and came up with this recipe.  If you're not vegan and want to amp it up, add some cream and Parmesan cheese at the end.  Happy Fall, Y'all!

-2 Tbsps Olive oil

-1/2 cup chopped onion

-1 cup Arborio rice

-1/4 cup Dry white wine

-About 4 cups Vegetable stock 

-12 sage leaves, chopped

-Salt and pepper

-1/2 butternut squash, roasted.

Peel, dice and roast butternut squash at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  Toss with some olive oil, salt and pepper and cool.

In a 3 or 4-quart saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for a two minutes or until translucent. Add the rice and cook for 3 minutes more, stirring until nicely coated.  Add in sage.

Deglaze with the wine. Slowly stir, allowing the rice to absorb the wine. Once the wine is almost completely absorbed, add 1/2 cup of hot stock to the rice. Continue to stir until the liquid is almost completely absorbed, adding more stock in 1/2-cup increments. Stir often to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Continue cooking and stirring rice, adding a little bit of broth at a time, cooking and stirring until it is absorbed, until the rice is tender, but still firm to the bite, about 20-25 minutes. With the last ladle of stock, add butternut squash. Turn off the heat.

Note: The stock amount given is approximate. You may need a little more or less. If you end up needing more stock and you find yourself without, just use water.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Yield: Serves 2-3 as a main course, or 4 as a side dish.