THI YEAR, the lifestyle team will be continuing to give you the latest in recipes which we think would make a great student meal. This time around, it’s a Smoked garlic and butternut squash risotto. This recipe serves: 4-6 and has a preparation time of only 10 minutes, with cooking time being a further 20 minutes.
INGREDIENTS
- 25g butter
- 1tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 teaspoons Very Lazy Smoked Garlic
- ½ medium sized butternut squash or small pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and cut into 1cm cubes (about 375g)
- 1 litre hot vegetable or chicken stock
- 325g risotto rice
- 150ml dry white wine
- 2 x 100g rounds goats’ cheese
- 125g baby leaf spinach
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS
- In a large saucepan, melt the butter with the oil, then stir in the onion and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the onion has softened.
- Stir in the butternut squash and cook for a further 3-4 minutes, until starting to brown. Add 4 tablespoons of the stock, cover the pan and sweat the vegetables for 5 minutes.
- Add the rice and cook for 2 minutes, then pour in the wine and cook for 2-3 minutes until absorbed. Stir in the stock 125ml at a time, stirring constantly, until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
- Roughly chop 1 of the rounds of cheese and slice the other into 4 rounds. Stir in the chopped cheese and season well. If more liquid is required stir in hot water. The risotto is ready, when the butternut squash and rice grains are tender.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the spinach. Cover and allow it to wilt with the heat from the risotto. Serve topped with goats cheese and season to taste.
We also tried putting the garlic in tomatoes and onions and roasting it with other vegetables and serving with other mains. As well as this we added the garlic to pesto and made pesto chicken with a bit of an edge. Here, we realised that this garlic can be used in a wide range of dishes.
We also made chili with nachos using Very Lazy chopped chilies – you can read this online at www.aberstudentmedia.com.