Chicken and Butternut Squash Risotto

Adapted from This Week for Dinner.

Risotto can be intimidating, but it really just takes time and patience – so grab a friend or two, pour yourself the wine left over from the recipe, and make an evening out of preparing this dish! Along with our butternut squash risotto, we made a delicious salad with spring mix, pomegranate seeds, toasted walnuts, and caramelized pears. For the dressing we tossed the leaves in balsamic vinegar. This particular spread was specially chosen for a small dinner party at our place last weekend, celebrating the reunion of three travel companions. It was a wonderful meal for friends, fun, and fall.

Ingredients:

• 1 small-medium butternut squash
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 8 cups chicken broth (may need the extra when cooking the Arborio rice)
• 2 cups water
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups Arborio rice
• 2 cups dry white wine
• Nutmeg
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (we grated it ourselves, but you can take a shortcut and use Kraft Parm!)
• 4 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 tsps fresh thyme leaves

Directions:

Season chicken with salt and pepper; either boil until tender (about 45 minutes) and shred, or sauté on a large skillet with olive oil and cut and shred into small pieces.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut the butternut squash lengthwise into halves. Remove the seeds and pulp by scooping them out with a spoon. Peel the squash and then cut it into small chunks. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and roast in oven for about 45 minutes to soften the squash. Before moving on, make sure the chicken is shredded and the squash is cut up and roasted.

Pour the chicken broth and 2 cups of water into a large saucepan and turn stove to medium-high heat. Once boiling, turn to a simmer.

Heat the oil, 2 turns of the pan, over medium-high heat in a large skillet. When it starts to ripple, add in the onion and garlic and stir occasionally for about 2 minutes. Pour in the rice and stir occasionally for 3 minutes. Finally, stir in the wine and continue stirring until it’s fairly evaporated, about another 3 minutes.

Add 4 ladles of the heated chicken broth to the rice, stirring until the liquid evaporates. Pour in the chicken stock, 2 ladles at a time, stirring and watching to see that the stock is absorbed before adding more. Overall this should end up taking around 20 minutes, and if the rice isn’t continuing to soften then pour in a little of the extra broth.

When the rice only needs a few minutes more to cook, stir in the squash. Season with a dash of nutmeg, thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Cut the heat and stir in the cheese and butter.

Yield: 8 servings