Butternut squash risotto with leeks and Fireworks butternut sage butter

by Jessica Jacobson

I learned about butternut squash in college from a dear friend of mine who was making a soup with it. We lived in the PNW at the time and this time of year was cold and rainy. I fell in love with her soup's sweet earthy taste and peppery goodness. Now, in my 40's and cooking for my family, I look forward to trying butternut squash in different recipes each season. This risotto had me at the word butternut! It is such a warm comforting meal on those cool fall and winter evenings. You can scale the flavorings depending on what you like. A little white wine, a little more broth, whatever you choose to make it your own, make sure you include the butter! It adds a delicious velvety texture as a topper too!

This recipe uses the Instant Pot and is adapted from Feasting at Home Blog.

Set the Instant Pot to the saute setting. The recipe starts with prepping the leeks. Cut and rinse them well. If they are very muddy, soak in a big bowl of water and separate the rings.

This Butternut Risotto is perfect for cozy fall nights when time is limited. When using an instant pot, it only requires only 15 minutes of hands-on time before letting the Instant Pot take over and in the end, you’ll have a comforting nourishing meal on the table with very little fuss. You can also make this on the stovetop in about 40 minutes. For that you'd start with melting the Fireworks Butternut Sage butter and adding the leeks, stirring until they soften.

Now if you don’t have an instant pot, there is a stovetop version and it is yummy. For the stovetop version, we roast the butternut. You'd just follow the recipe on the back of the arbrorio rice package.

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil (or butter)
  • 2 cups sliced leeks (one extra large leek)
  • 4 garlic cloves, rough chopped
  • 8 sage leaves, chopped
  • 1 cup Arborio rice 
  • 2 heaping cups of butternut squash, cubed 
  • 1 Fireworks Butternut Sage Butter Burst
  • 2 cups veggie stock or chicken stock, or broth 
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8  teaspoon white pepper (or sub-black pepper to taste)
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 
  • 2–3 handfuls of baby spinach or chopped kale

STEP ONE:

The recipe starts with prepping the leeks. Cut and rinse them well. If they are very muddy, soak in a big bowl of water and separate the rings.

Save the green leek tops for Leek Oil – which is optional, but will change your life! I’m not joking here friends. It’s amazing.

STEP TWO:

Set the Instant Pot to the sauté setting.  Heat the oil and add the leeks, stirring until they soften.

STEP THREE:

Add the garlic, sage and the Arborio Rice, sautéing the rice until translucent, about 2-3 minutes.

STEP FOUR:

Then add the raw butternut squash that has been cut into cubes, salt and spices.

STEP FIVE:

Give a few stirs and add the rice.

Scrape up all those browned bits, let the wine evaporate then add the broth. Be doubly sure to get all the browned bits. Using a wooden spoon helps.

 

STEP SEVEN:

Pressure cook on high for 6 minutes.

Naturally, release for 5 minutes, then manually release.

Give a little stir and toss in a couple of handfuls of baby spinach to bump up the nutrition.

STEP EIGHT:

This is when the magic happens. Stir in the Fireworks Butternut Sage butter and parmesan to taste.

If you like a looser risotto, add a little more broth or water to get the consistency how you like it.

As you keep stirring the butternut will break down a bit. It will add a nice creaminess. Feel free to add more butter to taste!

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