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Roasted Kabocha Risotto with Sage Hazelnut Pesto
Beautiful roasted kabocha woven into a silky risotto with sage and hazelnut pesto plus some crumbled blue cheese at the end make the deep squash flavors simply sing!
Ingredients
Roasted Kabocha
- 1 each kabocha squash
- 1 tsp olive oil
Roasted Kabocha Risotto
- 1 each shallot, small dice
- 1 tbsp fresh sage leaves, chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup arborio rice (or other risotto rice)
- 1 cup dry white wine (optional but need 4 cups total liquid if you omit this)
- 3 cups vegetable stock (can use chicken if you prefer)
- 1 1/2 cups roasted kabocha puree (from the roasted kabocha above)
- 1 cup partially roasted kabocha, diced (also from above)
- 1 tbsp butter (optional)
Instructions
Roasted Kabocha
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Rinse and dry your kabocha squash and cut into quarters.
- Scoop out the seeds and rub with a bit of olive oil (a little goes a long way).
- Place on a baking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes. Remove one of the quarters and continue roasting the other 3 pieces for another 20 – 30 minutes until fork tender and getting some nice browning on the points. (You can start the risotto while this is finishing cooking if you want to save a bit of time)
- Remove the 3 pieces of kabocha from the oven and let cool enough to remove the skins. Process in a food processor until silky smooth and set aside (you'll probably have more than you need… which can be used for SO many things!)
Roasted Kabocha Risotto
- In a medium saucepan cover and heat the stock gently so it remains hot but isn’t boiling away.
- Dice the shallot into small bits.
- Heat a large bottom pan over medium heat, add olive oil and swirl to coat.
- Add chopped shallots and cook until soft, a minute or two.
- Add rice and stir continuously to coat with oils, a minute or two. Be careful to avoid burning the rice.
- Add chopped sage and stir to coat.
- Pour in the white wine and stir until it is completely absorbed, this will steam up when you pour it in so take caution.
- Add heated stock 1 cup at a time and stir continuously until absorbed. Repeat until all stock is in.
Sauteed Kabocha
- While the risotto is finishing, remove the skin and dice the one quarter partially roasted kabocha.
- Heat a skillet over medium heat and add butter to melt.
- Quickly saut̩ the diced kabocha until they get a nice browning and are cooked through. and set aside (should be 3 Р5 minutes).
Finish
- When the last of your liquid has been properly absorbed in the risotto, stir in butter and the kabocha puree and until nice and creamy and heated through.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve the risotto, with some of the sauteed kabocha, the sage and hazelnut pesto, and sprinkle with crumbles of blue cheese, enjoy!
Notes
Another beautiful recipe I created with the fantastic squash from Bay Baby Produce gift!