The cooling off period is here. Crisp evenings, dewy mornings and the crackle of fires and smoke filled air. Autumn is a season full of emotion for most people, scents, sounds, sights; they all conjure something different for everyone. My favourite part about autumn, besides the oversized sweaters, scarves and inevitable hallowe’en references is the food. Who can resist the last of the summer’s harvest and all the bounty of the return to heavier foods?
Here in the guiltiest of kitchens, we are finishing off our chicken coop (Only the fence and the chickens are needed to be 100% done!) and readying ourselves for the big birthday bash on Saturday. Look forward to a recipe for tiramisu no-bake cheesecake coming your way, it should be pretty good!
Today I present autumn on a plate. Simple, flavourful and full of all the things that comfort most on those drizzly cool evenings.
Butternut Squash and Bacon Risotto
Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes1/2 butternut squash
1 tsp grapeseed oil (or other vegetable oil)
2 oz dried shiitake mushrooms
4-5 cups mushroom stock from dried shiitakes (chicken or vegetable would be fine too)
3 tbsp butter, divided
1/2 large sweet onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
4 fresh thyme sprigs (about 1 Tbsp fresh thyme)
1 1/2 cups short grain brown rice
250 g thick cut, double smoked bacon, cut into cubes
1/2 cup vermouth or dry white wine
1 tbsp white truffle oil (optional)
1/4 cup Parmesan, finely grated1. Brush squash half with one teaspoon of vegetable oil and roast in a 400°F oven for 45-60 minutes or until softened and cooked through.
2. Remove from oven and let stand. When cooled, peel and dice into large cubes. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, fill with four to five cups of hot water.
4. Place in dried mushrooms and allow to steep for 30-45 minutes. When reconstituted, remove woody stems and dice but reserve the water for use asstock. Set aside.
5. In a large heavy bottomed saucepan or pot, heat one tablespoon of butter. Add in onion, garlic and thyme and sauté for 2-3 minutes or until vegetables begin to turn translucent.
6. Add mushrooms and rice and cook, stirring constantly, for 5-10 minutes.
7. Add mushroom stock one cup at a time, stirring between additions and allowing the stock to be completely soaked up by the rice before adding more.
8. Meanwhile, in a small heavy bottomed pan, cook the bacon until crisp. Drain on paper or kitchen towels and set aside.
9. When last of stock is used up, add vermouth to risotto and allow to cook off a bit.
10. Stir in remaining butter, cubed squash and bacon. Sprinkle with Parmesan and stir in.
11. Serve with a drizzle of white truffle oil or more Parmesan for garnish.
Similarly delicious recipes on other blogs:
Butternut Squash Muffins on 101 Cookbooks
Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Gratin on Pinch My Salt
Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Galette on Smitten Kitchen
Red Quinoa with Butternut Squash, Cranberries and Pecans on Gluten Free Goddess
Achiote-Rubbed Butternut Squash Tacos on Herbivoracious
Thanks for this – I’m making it tonight! I bought two squash planning on soup, but on this cold, rainy day, I want risotto! I don’t like the taste of brown rice normally, but I think in risotto, I can be a fan. For tonight, it’ll be with arborio, but it’s the perfect dinner for hubs to come home to 🙂
It’ll work just fine with arborio. I made it with brown cause that’s how I roll (LIE: I had no arborio in the house…)
Yum! I love butternut squash and bacon. So making this!
Makes my mouth water! I esp like the look of the verre du vin blanc!
Yikes, I typed in my blog address wrong in my last post! Feel free to delete!
I’ve made risotto with brown rice before… it takes FOREVER! Good on you 🙂
I’m debating whether you can par cook the rice first and get similar results (I’m a risotto snob, so I generally don’t like to mess with the process). I love the idea of the vermouth too!
Great work.
Yum…, love a pumpkin risotto, they always look so darn happy 🙂 The bacon would add a nice salty taste too. Looks great.
This looks and sounds amazing! Thanks!
Why dried Shitake instead of fresh?
In order to get the 4-5 cups of shiitake mushroom broth, you need to use dried. But if you want to use fresh shiitakes, be my guest! You will just have to use a different stock.
It doesn’t get more comforting than risotto. This one looks TO DIE FOR!
we’ve made a risotto very similar to this with butternut, prosciutto and sage — top-notch. sometimes the thick, smokiness of bacon is warranted, though, and i think we’ll have to try that next time.
cheers,
*heather*
This looks so yummy! I think I will make it for dinner tonight!
creamy..just perfect..the colors…wonderful
One of my favorite risottos is made with butternut squash, but I’ve never added bacon. You photos are great! loved this post!
That dish is simply gorgeous!! I wish we were cooling off here but not quite yet. We sort of have an endless summer until Halloween.
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Oh – the risotto looks fantastic! Swanky new site BTW! Cheers, Micehlle
This sounds so delicious luxurious with the truffle oil!
Wow… That looks incredible! Yum!!
Question regarding the wine/vermouth – usually I add wine first, before adding stock. Do you find it gives a lot of more flavor when adding it at the end or is there another reason?
I think it does impart a bit more flavour…which I really like from the vermouth. But feel free to make it the way you are comfortable with. It will work just fine if you add it in with the vegetables, before the stock.
wow, this risotto looks SO good. it incorporates the squash, which i harvested bunches of but haven’t used yet, with bacon, which will convince my husband to at least try this dish (the squash part kinda scares him) 🙂
I love the way you reel us in to your beautiful life! The relevance of the food, the delivery and the beautiful images make mne look forward to each post! cheers kari
This sounds fabulous! We’ll have to try this. We’ve been looking for a good, autumnal risotto recipe, lately.
This looks so delicious! I can’t wait to see the tiramisu cheesecake!!
I’ve been having a hard time dealing with the fact that summer passed me by with such a quickness that I didn’t get to enjoy it as much as I usually do. I didn’t even dip a single toe into a pool…so upset about that.
That being said, I promised myself that I was going to squeeze every last ounce of festiveness (sp?) out of autumn through decor, scents and, most importantly, food. Tomorrow night, I’m going to make this risotto, pour a glass of wine and curl up with a sleazy Lifetime movie. Such a perfect recipe for fall!
I have everything I need to make this! Well, pumpkin instead of butternut squash but still…Hooray!
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That looks amazing. I just have to find me a butternut squash in the middle of Basque country (not necessarily an easy feat) and then… dinnnerr! 😀
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