Chorizo & Butternut Squash Risotto

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The first time I cooked risotto was for some friends who had just had a baby. She is vegetarian so I decided to cook something a little different from the usual veggie meal route. I came across a recipe for a mushroom and leek risotto which received great feedback and therefor inspired me to cook risotto non-stop for about a month. I was always so scared of cooking risotto as I always heard these horror stories from everyone about how tricky it was but as long as you prepare in advance it should all go smoothly.

This combination of chorizo & butternut squash is my favourite combination, this time I mixed it up a little by using a hungarian sausage instead of chorizo as it was what I had in my fridge. I can imagine it working well with most cured sausages so its worth experimenting. This recipe can easily be doubled, tripled etc.

Serves 2
You will need-

• 1/2 cup of diced chorizo sausage or similar cured sausage
• 110g risotto rice
• 1 + 1/2 to 2 cups diced butternut squash
• 450ml hot vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup peas (optional)
• 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese

Firstly add your squash to the pan of stock on a medium high heat. You want it to cook for around 10-15 minutes. Whilst that is cooking get your biggest saucepan on a medium high heat and then add your chorizo. Because of the oil content of the sausage you don't need to add any more oil. Cook the chorizo for around 5 minutes. You want it to go a little crispy round the edges but don't let it burn. Next, using a slotted spoon remove the chorizo and place in a bowl. Be sure to keep all of that oil goodness behind in the pan.

Now add your rice to the pan and cook for a minute. Be sure to coat the rice in all that oily chorizo goodness. Whilst that is cooking remove the butternut squash with a slotted spoon and place in a separate bowl. You want to add a ladle-full of stock at a time. 

Stir often and add another ladle-full once the last lot of stock has been absorbed. Once you get close to the last of your stock taste a bit of rice to check how cooked it is. I like it with a bit of bite to it. Keep going till the rice is at the cooked 'stage' you like. Be sure to not let the risotto dry up to much, you don't want it to become a sold lump.

Now all there is left to do is add the chorizo and squash to the risotto and mix well. Serve in bowls and sprinkle with pepper and parmesan.

Enjoy x