Butternut Squash Risotto with Mushrooms and Spinach
Inspired by the holiday season upon us, this butternut squash risotto is a perfect addition to your Thanksgiving table. Let's be real, you can add this to any table, any time of the year. By switching out the squash for say, chickpeas and swapping kale for spinach, you've just made a completely new meal! Play with spices, add in your own flavors, this dish is all yours!
Ingredients
Setup
- 1 butternut squash, peeled and chopped into roughly 1 1/2" cubes (or one package of pre cut squash, about 2 cups)
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup + 3 tablespoons water
- 3.5 C vegetable broth
- 1 shallot, diced
- 2 C mushrooms, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 C arborio rice
- 1/2 C white wine
- Sea salt/ground pepper
- 2 C baby spinach, washed
- 1/2 C nutritional yeast flakes
Directions
Preheat oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the maple syrup and water in a large mixing bowl. Add the squash and toss. Transfer the squash to the baking sheet an bake for 30 minutes. Using a thin spatula, flip the squash halfway through the cooking time.
In a large sauce pan, heat up the vegetable broth and keep it warm.
In a separate large sauce pan over high heat, begin to saute the shallot and the mushrooms.Bring the heat down to medium/high. Add a tablespoon of water at at time if the vegetables begin to stick. Cook for about 4-5 minutes and then add in the garlic. Saute Garlic only for about a minute. Careful to not burn the garlic. Add the rice and gently stir the mixture together. Add in the wine and let simmer for a minute or so. Add one ladle of broth at a time to the rice and stir. When the rice has soaked up all the broth, add another ladle. Do this until all the broth is gone and the rice is cooked al dente. This should take about 20 minutes or so.
Remove the rice from the heat and fold in the spinach and the nutritional yeast. When the spinach has wilted, fold in the butternut squash. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
