Barefoot Contessa's Butternut Squash Risotto Recipe - Food.com (2024)

FAQs

What to serve with butternut squash risotto? ›

Round out the meal with homemade focaccia or crusty bread and a vegetable side dish. I like to pair this butternut squash risotto with a simple salad, like my Pear Salad or Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad, or roasted vegetables like Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, or broccoli. Don't forget the apple crumble for dessert!

For a basic butternut squash recipe, halve the squash, scoop out the seeds and chop into chunks. You don't have to remove the skin — it will go soft and sweet as the squash cooks — just make sure you wash it well before cooking. Roast at 180°C for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden and soft.

In Italy, when it is not used as a complete meal, risotto is considered a main dish, and is usually served with small portions of meat or light vegetable side dishes. For example, it is very common to pair risotto with a couple of lemon escalopes, or with bresaola and arugula.

I made just a few changes: no mascarpone and crunchy speck to add a bit of textural fun. The core of the dish, spicy, oven-roasted squash, stays the same. The classic, conservative match is (young) oaked chardonnay.

In a large bowl mix the cubed squash, garlic cloves and ginger with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the spice mix. Season with salt and pepper and scatter in a single layer in a roasting tray. Place in the preheated oven and cook for 30 minutes until tender all the way through.

Can You Eat Butternut Squash Skin? It's important to note that while many people choose to remove butternut squash skin (and this is best practice for soup making, where you want smooth results), you can 100% eat roasted butternut squash skin. Slice butternut squash into crescents and roast it with the skin on.

Gradual absorption and constant agitation are the keys to cooking risotto, encouraging the starches to release from the rice and transforming into the dish's trademark creamy consistency. You may not need all of the hot water, but err on the side of soup rather than sludge.

A bit later in Milan, the most famous risotto dish, Risotto alla Milanese, was created. It was suffused with saffron, like paella. The year was 1829 and the name Risotto alla Milanese appears for the first time in the recipe book Nuovo Cuoco Milanese Economico.

It's considered proper etiquette to use a fork to scoop up and enjoy the creamy texture of risotto. Avoid using a knife, as cutting or piling isn't necessary.

Is butternut squash a good or bad carb? ›

Butternut squash is a low-calorie food and is packed with nutrients. While it's higher in carbs than some other veggies, its low glycemic index (a ranking of how carbs affect blood sugar) still makes it a healthy choice for most people.

Risotto is a rice dish that uses specific types of rice called Arborio, Carnaroli, or Vialone Nano. These rices have a high carbohydrate content allowing for the creamy texture signature of risotto dishes.

Butternut squash is often thought to be a starchy vegetable but you can see that it's not quite as high in starch as a potato. This makes butternut squash a great option for those on a lower carb diet who still want to get the flavor of a starchier root vegetable.

Pair squash with cowpeas or grow a mixture of prolific flowering plants like buckwheat, dill, coreopsis, cosmos, and sweet alyssum to attract beneficial insects like pollinators and predators such as parasitic wasps, ladybugs, lacewings, and minute pirate bugs.

It goes nicely with a quick veggie side dish like sautéed spinach, green beans, or roasted broccoli. It would also pair well with any of these salad recipes: Simple Green Salad. Arugula Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette.