8 fresh sage leaves, stems removed and finely chopped
1½ cups (300 g) risotto rice
½ cup (100 ml) white wine (ideally vegan, optional)
1 lemon, zest and juice (remember to grate before juicing)
4-5 cups (1-1.2 litres) vegan stock
4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
½ cup (100 ml) plant-based milk
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons (30 g) plant-based butter
1 green onion chopped, for topping
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).
When preparing the butternut squash, it’s up to you if you want to peel the skin or not.
I always leave it on since it’ll soften in the oven and is perfectly edible.
Give the squash a quick rinse, cut in half, remove the tough parts of the stem and bottom end, scoop out the seeds with a spoon, then chop into 1-inch cubes. (You can roast the seeds as a garnish or snack).
Drizzle one tablespoon of the olive oil over a large oven dish, then add the cubed butternut squash and spread evenly.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast in the oven for around 25 minutes or until tender.
While the squash is roasting, you can begin preparing the other ingredients. Heat the vegan stock in a saucepan then keep at a very low simmer.
In a separate large pan, heat the other tablespoon of oil on medium heat. Add the chopped onion and soften for 3-4 minutes, before adding the chopped garlic and chopped sage. Season with salt and pepper, stir well, and cook for a couple of minutes or until the onion and garlic have softened.
At this point, turn up the heat and keep stirring the ingredients. Add the risotto rice and stir constantly for a minute or so to avoid it catching on the bottom. The aim here is for the rice to start cracking and turning translucent, which will help it to absorb all the flavours from the liquid. Don’t walk away from the pan – it’s all hands on deck to keep stirring right now.
After a minute on high heat, add the white wine and lemon juice (but not the zest). If not using wine, replace this with ½ cup (100 ml) of stock. The liquid will bubble vigorously at first, before calming down. Stir well for a minute and then reduce the heat.
Start to add ladles of the stock to the rice, stirring regularly. The idea is to ‘beat’ the rice to help release the starches and make it creamy. Don’t drown the rice in stock, but also don’t let it dry out too much. ‘Sloppy’ is the best word I can think of to describe it. The heat should be fairly low throughout, so that the rice is bubbling gently but not boiling.
Continue this process for around 15 minutes, before adding the nutritional yeast, lemon zest, and plant-based milk. Stir well and cook for another five minutes, adding as much stock as you need to the pan. 1 litre of stock should be enough for 300 grams of rice, but add extra liquid if necessary.
Once the squash is cooked, remove from the oven and mash half of it in the oven dish. Stir the mash and cubes into the risotto, adding a little more hot water or stock if necessary.
After the rice has been cooking for a total of 20 minutes, it should be ‘al dente’. Each grain should be cooked through but still hold its shape. It may take longer than 20 minutes depending on how hot your stock is and how much you’re cooking. Once the rice is creamy and cooked through, adjust the seasoning (I sometimes add a little extra chopped sage) and then turn off the heat.
Optional step: At this point, I like to stir in a generous spoonful of plant-based butter and then cover with a lid. I find that this gives a nice gloss to the final risotto. After a couple of minutes, remove the lid and stir well.
Serve with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, vegan parmesan, roasted squash seeds, and crispy sage leaves (see notes).
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