Baked Butternut Squash Risotto
with chard / pecans
Ingredients
- Egg whites - 1, beaten
- Foil - for cooking
- Pecan halves - 1/2 cup
- Sugar, light brown - 2 tsp
- Cinnamon - 1/2 tsp
- Salt - 1/2 tsp
- Red pepper flakes (opt) - 1/2 tsp
- Onions, medium - 1, chopped
- Butternut squash - 3 cups, cubes (look for pre-cubed to save time)
- Cheese, Parmesan - 3 oz, grated
- Oil, olive - 1 Tbsp
- Italian seasoning - 1/2 tsp
- Rice, Arborio - 1 cup
- Wine, white - 1/2 cup (sub stock)
- Stock, any type - 4 cups
- Butter - 2 Tbsp
- Garlic - 2 cloves, thinly sliced
- Chard, any type - 1 bunch, chopped, leaves and stems separate
- Butter - 1 Tbsp
- Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Onions / Squash (if not using pre-cubed) / Garlic - (If prepping right before cooking, get oven heating before continuing prep.) Prep as directed. Store separately. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Cheese / Chard - Prep as directed. Store separately. (Can be done up to 2 days ahead)
- Egg whites - Beat with a fork until frothy.
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Make
- Heat oven to 300F / 149C.
- Line a sheet pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Combine pecans with egg whites. Add sugar, cinnamon, salt, and red pepper flakes (if using) and mix well. Spread pecans on prepared sheet pan.
- Bake, shaking the pan halfway through cooking, until pecans are golden and crisp, ~20 minutes.
- While pecans roast, heat a Dutch oven with a lid over medium heat. Add butter and then chard stems to melted butter. Saute until stems soften slightly. Stir in chard leaves and garlic. Saute for 2 minutes more.
- Season chard with some salt and pepper. Set aside and cover to keep warm.
- Return Dutch oven to heat. Add oil and then onions. Saute until soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Add Italian seasoning and rice and saute until rice is shiny, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add wine and simmer until most of the wine is absorbed, ~2 minutes.
- Add stock and squash. Season with some salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes.
- Give risotto a stir and cover with the lid.
- Transfer the covered risotto to the oven and increase the heat to 425F / 218C degrees (make sure the pecans are out of the oven before you increase the heat). Bake risotto until all of the liquid is absorbed, ~25 minutes.
- When risotto is nearly finished, reheat chard in the microwave or in an oven-safe dish in the oven. Squeeze lemon juice over top.
- Remove risotto from the oven and stir in butter. Taste and season with some salt and pepper.
- Serve risotto with cheese and spiced pecans on top. Enjoy chard on the side.
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
28 reviews
I loved the nuts and the risotto. I accidentally put too much butter in the chard so it was weirdly heavy. It also cooked down so much that 4 servings didn't seem to go very far.
0 HelpfulWe use half squash purée and half cubes and only a pat of butter, and the risotto is still incredibly rich and delicious! If you need a short cut, leaving out the nuts and popping in some dried cherries or golden raisins works beautifully too.
0 HelpfulThis was so good, and worked great in the Instant Pot (made the chard first). Used oil instead of eggs for the nuts, and used the "chard" as a topping, only I subbed a curly (lacinato maybe?) kale. Now I *slice* garlic all the time instead of mincing it. So good!!
0 HelpfulEverything in this was really good (even the chard!), though I found the texture of the nuts a little off-putting. Next time I'll just use oil instead of egg whites.
0 Helpful