Rick Stein' shares 'delicious' squash risotto recipe that's cheesy and 'autumnal'

Butternut squash is a popular winter vegetable known for its smooth texture and nutty flavour. It has a longer shelf life than summer squashes, such as courgettes, making it a cupboard staple for home cooks and professional chefs alike. Rick Stein suggests butternut squash as a staple in autumn risotto, adding orange hues and intense flavour to the soft rice. Not only does his recipe incorporate the flavours of the seasons, but it's also bound to warm you up.

Rick's culinary creation, as shared in an episode of his BBC show Rick Stein's Food Stories, is described as "cosy" and "autumnal". It is made "all the more delicious with homemade vegetable stock, plenty of Parmesan and a crispy sage leaf garnish". Taking the extra time to make the stock is well worth it for this recipe, and it's so versatile you can use it as a base for your favourite soup, too.

Rick Stein's squash risotto recipe

For the vegetable stock

• Two large onions
• Two large carrots
• One fennel bulb
• Two celery sticks
• One garlic bulb
• Three bay leaves
• A few fresh parsley stalks
• One tsp salt

For the risotto

• Four tbsp olive oil
• 8-10 fresh sage leaves
• 900g butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed and cut into rough chunks
• 1.5 litres vegetable stock (see above)
• 60g butter
• One banana shallot, chopped
• One garlic clove, chopped
• 300g Arborio or carnaroli risotto rice
• 100ml dry white wine
• 60g Parmesan (or alternative vegetarian hard cheese), grated
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

How to make the risotto

Wash and roughly chop the vegetables before making the stock, except for the garlic, which can be left whole and unpeeled.

Add the vegetables to a large saucepan along with the herbs and salt, and three litres of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes to one hour. Set a timer for this while you prepare the risotto.

For the risotto, preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7. Heat the oil in a frying pan until hot but not smoking, then add four whole sage leaves.

Fry the leaves until they are crispy, then place them on kitchen paper to set aside for garnishing the risotto later.

Transfer the oil from the pan into a roasting tin and add the butternut squash. Slice the remaining sage leaves into thin strips and add them to the squash, then season with salt and pepper.

Place the squash in the oven and roast for 25 minutes, or until it turns golden brown and becomes tender.

When the stock has simmered for 45 minutes, pour it through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan or bowl and set it aside for later use.

Pour half of the stock into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Melt 40g of the butter in the frying pan before adding the shallot and garlic.

Cook gently until softened but not coloured, then add the rice, stir well to coat and cook until translucent.

Pour in the white wine and allow it to bubble away so it is absorbed by he rice. Start adding the hot stock, a ladleful at a time, waiting until each one is absorbed before adding the next.

Stir the contents of the pan for 18 to 20 minutes until the rice has a creamy texture and the liquid resembles soup.

Finally, mash the roasted butternut squash roughly using a potato masher and add it to the rice.

Fold in the remaining butter and two-thirds of the grated Parmesan for extra creaminess, then season well with salt and pepper.

Portion the risotto into four warm bowls, topping each with a sprinkle of Parmesan and a crispy sage leaf to garnish.