Make our incredible Neethlingshof Butternut Risotto at home for meat-free Mondays! Watch the video here.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 cup risotto rice
1 onion – finely chopped
2 garlic cloves – minced
1 medium butternut
A few sprigs of thyme – pick the leaves from the stems
5g chives – chopped
1 small sweet potato
250ml cream
50g mascarpone cheese
150g parmesan cheese (grate 120g and shave the rest with a peeler)
1lt vegetable stock (you can make your own or use store bought, or even water if you have no other option)
100ml white wine
50g butter
Salt & Pepper
Method:
Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees.
Separate the top and bottom pieces of the butternut, peel both, then cut the top piece into cubes and remove the seeds from the bottom piece and chop up small.
Next separate your chopped onion, with ¾ add the garlic and thyme, and set aside the other ¼ of the onion.
To make the butternut puree, first boil the small chopped butternut until just cooked.
Then sweat the ¼ onion with 1tsp of butter, add the cooked butternut and the cream. Boil on a medium heat until the cream is reduced and slightly thickened and everything is nice and soft, season with salt and pepper. Blend in either a bar style blender or use a hand blender until smooth and set aside.
Next toss the butternut cubes in some oil, salt and pepper and roast in the oven until cooked. That’s the butternut elements done.
To make the sweet potato crisps, peel the sweet potato then use a peeler to make as thick peels as you can. Heat some oil for frying to 160 degrees, if you can’t measure the temperature of the oil, just make it medium hot, cooler than you would for normal deep frying of chips etc. Fry the sweet potato in small batches, while moving it around to ensure all the parts get crisp, then drain on paper towel, salt, and set aside.
Place the stock on a flame to keep hot. In a large pot put some oil and over a medium heat start to fry the onion mix, cook until nice and soft but still white, not browned. Next add the rice and fry further, toasting the rice in the pot while always stirring, for about 2min.
Next add the white wine, and let it reduce and cook away completely while constantly stirring.
Start adding the stock, 1 ladle at a time. Always make sure the previous ladle has been absorbed before adding the next, and keep stirring well at regular intervals. Once all the stock is in and has been absorbed, add the puree and bring back to the simmer, then add the mascarpone, butter, grated parmesan and roast butternut pieces. Season with salt and pepper, and taste.
Simmer for a minute or so to make sure everything is incorporated and taste to check seasoning.
Spoon into a bowl, top with the sweet potato crisps, shaved parmesan and chives.
