Half the squash roasted for sweetness, half cooked into the rice until it dissolves, with crisp fried sage on top.
Prep
20 mins
Cook
40 mins
Servings
4
Per serving
£1.73
Difficulty
medium
Treating the squash two ways is what lifts this above a beige bowl of rice: the roasted cubes give you sweet, caramelised bites, while the diced half melts into the risotto and colours it deep orange.
Heat the oven to 200C fan. Cut half the squash into 2cm cubes, toss with 2 tablespoons of oil and a pinch of salt and roast for 25 minutes until browned at the edges. Cut the other half into 1cm dice.
Melt half the butter with the last tablespoon of oil in a wide heavy pan. Cook the onion very gently for 8 minutes without colouring, then add the garlic and the small diced squash and cook for 5 minutes more.
Add the rice and stir for 2 minutes until the grains look translucent at the edges and smell faintly toasty.
Pour in the wine and stir until it has all been absorbed. Now add the hot stock one ladleful at a time, stirring often and waiting until each addition has almost gone before adding the next. This takes about 20 minutes.
Keep the stock at a simmer in a separate pan. Cold stock stalls the cooking and makes the rice cook unevenly.
While the risotto cooks, fry the sage leaves in a little oil for 30 seconds until they stiffen and darken. Drain on kitchen paper.
When the rice is tender with a slight bite and the small squash dice have collapsed into the sauce, take the pan off the heat. Beat in the remaining butter and the grated cheese, cover and leave for 2 minutes.
That two-minute rest with the lid on is the difference between good and excellent risotto.
Stir, season, and serve topped with the roasted squash cubes and crisp sage.