Butternut Squash Risotto

Last night was butternut squash risotto with sage.

I used:
1 1/2 cup or so of risotto rice (I just had about a third of a pack left, and threw it all in)
1 largish butternut squash
4 cloves of garlic
1 1/2 medium white onions
about 10 fresh sage leaves
1 gluten free vegetable boullion cube
1/2 leftover white wine
1/2 cup grated parmesan reggiano
1/2 pine nuts
a splash of double cream, to taste
salt and pepper to taste
some honey
some olive oil

Preheat the oven to 175 C. While it's heating, cut the butternut squash into four more or less equal sections, and scoop out the seeds. Arrange them skin side down (bowl side up) on a baking pan. Put two cloves of garlic in each bowl, along with two sage leaves. Roughly chop half an onion and put some of the pieces in the bowls as well, and scattered more around the pan. Put more sage over the pieces of squash that didn't have bowls, then drizzle everything with olive oil and a little honey. Put it in the oven for about 40 minutes, or until every section you test is soft when you poke it with a fork.

Luke is an excellent sous chef, so, if you have a partner, too, you can start on the risotto. Otherwise, wait for the squash to cool, then peel it and mash it a bit with your fingers as you go along - it's a messy job, so have fun! Keep the garlic, sage, and onion as well.

For the risotto: dice the other onion, and toss it into some olive oil in a big pot. Heat some water and make your stock with the boullion cube while you cook the onions on medium heat until translucent. Add the rice and stir for a minute or so, coating all the rice with oil. Add the wine and let it simmer off while stirring. Add your stock a little bit at a time and keep stirring and letting it absorb. When the rice is almost done (it should be soft but not mushy), add the roasted squash, sage, garlic and roasted onions (you can cut them a bit more finely after they've roasted if you like). Season with salt and pepper. Stir in cream and grated cheese. Turn off the heat and let it sit while you fry up some sage and pine nuts in a pan. Just add olive oil, add the sage and pine nuts, and turn on the heat to medium. Keep an eye on the pine nuts because they'll burn easily. They should be golden brown when you take them off. The fried sage will be quite stiff - and tasty! If you haven't had fried sage before, if it a nibble.

Serve the risotto and top it off with the pine nuts and fried sage.

Making a start

I've been a vegetarian for over ten years, but I've only recently become interested in sustainability, local agriculture, back yard vegetable gardening, and waste minimization. Navigating the culinary world from a vegetarian and environmental perspective is hard enough in itself, but throw in a gluten-free and finicky-eater boyfriend, and the picture gets even more muddled.

So, this blog is a place for me to keep track of my successes and failures in attempting to cook gluten-free, vegetarian, and green.

Any tips or recipes would be much appreciated (as would lively discussion).