Squash & goat's cheese risotto

What to do for dinner? I had butternut squash and goat's cheese curd at home. Surely I can turn it into a risotto!

At Winchester Farmers Market I bought goat's cheese curd from Ellie's Dairy. They have wonderful soft white goat's cheese and the curd is the softest, easy to spread on bread or cook.

I searched the internet for recipes and decided to come up with my own recipe from a few I saw online. I am really pleased with the end result!

Ingredients:

• 600g butternut squash, peeled
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• thyme to taste
• 300g risotto rice
• 100ml white wine
• 1 litre vegetable stock
• 100g goat's cheese / goat's cheese curd
• pecorino to taste
• olive oil to taste
• salt & pepper to taste

Method:

1. Chop the butternut squash into small pieces. I cut 250g into Julienne (match stick cuts) to incorporate into the risotto at the end and 350g into Macedoine to mash and add with the stock. 
2. Put the squash on an ovenproof tray and drizzle with olive oil and salt & pepper to taste. I kept the cuts separated on the oven tray to make life easier. Roast for 20 min in a 200°C oven.
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Reserve the Julienne squash. Blitz the Macedoine squash.
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Sweat the onion and garlic in olive oil.
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Add the white wine and thyme and let the wine evaporate.
   
   
   
6. Add the rice and stir to fry for 1 min.
   
   
   
7. Add the stock, one ladle at a time, until the rice is cooked.
   
8. Add the mashed squash and combine.
   
   
   
   
   
   
9. Add the goat's cheese curd and salt & pepper to taste and stir until melted.
   
   
   
   
   
   
10. Add the Julienne squash and stir.
    
    
    
    
    
    
11. Plate the risotto and grate pecorino on top.
    
    
    
12. Serve immediately.