Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto

First, start roasting the butternut squash. Preheat the oven to 375ºF and get all of the butternut squash into a large 9 x 13 baking dish. Sprinkle the chopped sage and salt all over it. Then liberally drizzle the olive oil all over the mixture and toss it all together well. Roast the butternut squash in the oven for about 30 minutes. It should become fork tender and fragrant.

While the butternut squash roasts, prepare the risotto. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Get the diced pancetta into the hot pan and let it completely cook and crisp up. It will take about 8 minutes. When it’s done, remove it with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towel. While the pancetta cooks, pour the chicken stock into a saucepan and get it on the stove either right next to or right behind the skillet. Let it warm up gently over medium low heat.

Drain most of the rendered out pancetta fat out of the pan. Leave just enough to coat the skillet. You can pour the excess into a container and save it to cook with later. It’s liquid gold! Add the rice to the skillet and let it lightly toast up in the pancetta fat for less than a minute. Pour in the white wine and let the rice almost completely absorb it.

This is where patience comes in. Ladle a couple of scoops of the warm chicken stock into the skillet and stir constantly while the rice absorbs it. When it’s absorbed, repeat with another couple of scoops of the warm stock. Keep up the process until the stock is all completely absorbed into the rice and the rice is perfectly tender. The whole process will take about 20 minutes. Take the pan off of the heat.

The butternut squash should be done at this point. Take it out and measure out two heaping cups of it. There may be some leftover depending on the size of the squash. That can be a great snack for later! Stir the butternut squash, pancetta and smoked gouda into the rice and the risotto is done! Scoop it into bowls and serve with extra chopped sage on top. Enjoy!