Golden Risotto

Published in

Skulduggery

4 min readAug 29, 2018

Autumnal stodge with the lingering colours of summer.

Recently a very good friend of mine left the country to go and live on the other side of the world. And being the conscientious vegans that we are, we made sure that none of her pantry goods went to waste.

I was craving a risotto and without any arborio rice in my cupboards I checked the bag of goodies she left me, and lo and behold — arborio rice! Friends supporting friends when they don’t even know it. So, this is my sunny, delightful, golden Italian dish (she loves Italian food) dedicated just to her. Con tanto amore.

First, place the butternut squash on a baking sheet (I used thawed frozen squash - *simples*).

Make sure to season with a good, hefty pinch of cumin, chilli and salt.

Then put in the middle of the oven at 180c for 25–30 minutes.

Place the stock ingredients — 1 litre water, 1 stock cube, a generous pinch saffron, half tsp chilli powder, half tsp onion granules, 4 bay leaves — in a pan, and turn on the heat to medium high.

While that is heating up place the diced onions in another pan on a medium heat with a little oil.

Let the onions cook until translucent, but not brown, then add the white wine. The 200g arborio rice can go in next.

Allow it to cook for a minute then add a ladle of stock, stirring frequently continue to add all the stock a ladle at a time until it is fully incorporated. When the rice is soft and glistening, and still slightly al dente in the centre, it is done. You can now add the vegan cheesy element which is a quarter cup of nutritional yeast.

Now purée the butternut squash with a teaspoon of olive oil and some salt and you’re pretty much there.

I tried out a few plating styles, the first was to quenelle the squash purée on top of the rice with some extra finely dice chilli, spring onion and julienned spinach.

The other, which was my preferred way, was to mix the squash puree into the rice itself, adding yet more yellowy colour and oodles of flavour.

This is especially good for kids who don’t like their veggies as the squash is out of site, but not out of your mind *winks and has a little chuckle as you place the plate down in front of them.*

Whether you pile it high, have a delicate portion, eat with a spoon or fork, out of a bowl or plate, one thing is for definite, risotto is much easier than you think and a perfectly beautiful dish for any day of the week.