Healthy, tasty and vegan, this creamy roasted butternut squash risotto is simply fall in a bowl. Wish i had remembered to sprinkle some toasted pine nuts on top before I took the photos.
There’s no denying the magic that some crispy fried sage can bring to a comforting dish like this, but peppery arugula is not too shabby when trying to stay both healthy and delicious.
Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium size butternut squash
- 1 organic lemon zested and juiced
- 1 cup baby arugula -organic
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch sea salt -to taste
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 5-6 cup vegetable stock (hot and low sodium)
- 1 1/2 cup carnarolli risotto rice
- 1/2 leek -sliced and rinsed well
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/3 cup pine nuts -toasted
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450”F. Peel the butternut squash, discard the seeds and cut the flesh into 1 inch cubes. Toss with 1 teaspoon of olive oil, a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Spread them on a baking sheet in a single layer and roast in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Gently flip them over and roast an additional 15 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
- Meanwhile in a large skillet heat up 2 tbsp of the oliv eoil and saute the leeks with a pinch of sea salt until translucent. Stir in the rice to and start adding the hot stock, a ladle at a time, just enough to cover the grains of rice. Keep the rice cooking at a gentle simmer while adding the hot stock and stirring often. Repeat until the rice is cooked through but still al dente. ( about the 25-30 minutes)
- Take 3/4 c of the roasted butternut squash cubes and roughly mash them with a fork. Add them to the pan with the risotto, nutritional yeast, lemon zest, half of the lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil. Stir well until everything is incorporated. Adjust seasonings to your taste with sea salt and more lemon juice. Stir in the arugula (reserving a few leaves for garnish ) and cover with a lid. Let sit for a couple of minutes before serving with the remaining butternut squash on top and garnished with a few arugula leaves. Sprinkle with the pine nuts.