Butternut Squash Risotto Recipe – Bright Horizons Family Recipes

Butternut Squash Risotto Recipe – Bright Horizons Family Recipes

I love trying new recipes and finding new meal ideas. It’s important for me to cook healthy food for my family and when the kids get older, I will make sure they get involved and learn about cooking too. It’s an essential skill in my opinion and I remember enjoying learning to cook and bake when I was little.

We were recently asked if we wanted to try a recipe from the brand new Bright Horizon’s family cook book. Bright Horizons is the UK’s leading nursery network and is trusted to provide children and families with naturally inspiring, exceptional care and education for the early years. Many nurseries are using the recipes from this book, including the Macintosh Nursery which is a nursery in Manchester.

The book has a bunch of delicious sounding recipes but the Butternut Squash Risotto was the one that caught my eye. I love Italian food and the recipe is vegetarian too so that’s perfect for me. It’s even vegan! You can find more family recipes here.

Butternut Squash Risotto

Ingredients:

• 300g Butternut Squash
• 20ml Vegetable Oil
• 200g White Onion
• 2 Cloves of Fresh Garlic
• 400g Risotto Rice
• 1 Litre of Water
• 400g Haricot Beans
• 100g Fresh Spinach
• 10g Fresh Parsley

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas mark 6.
2. Prepare the vegetables by – peeling, deseeding and dicing the butternut squash, Peeling and chopping the onion, peeling and crushing the garlic.
3. Drain the beans and chop the fresh parsley.
4. In a large mixing bowl, coat the diced butternut squash in half the oil.
5. Place on a baking tray, making sure the pieces do not overlap. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes or until soft.
6. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a deep saucepan.
7. Add the onion and garlic and heat until it softens.
8. Add the rice and mix well for a few seconds to coat with oil, then pour in one-third of the water and bring to a gentle simmer.
9. Cook until almost all the water is absorbed.
10. Add a little more water and the beans. Cook until almost all the water is absorbed.
11. Continue to add the water a little at a time until it has all been absorbed and the rice is cooked.
12. Stir in the roasted butternut squash, spinach and half the chopped parsley. Stir regularly until the spinach has wilted.
13. Sprinkle with the remaining parsley before serving.

I also made a few changes. I added two vegetable stock cubes and 150g of grated Italian hard cheese because I love cheese! The cheese makes the recipe vegetarian, not vegan. It’s a brilliant and simple family recipe and the result was so tasty! The whole family can eat it and you can adjust it by adding things like I did if you want.

I will definitely make this dish again! It keeps well in the fridge — we love leftovers — and it’s a very affordable meal too.

We were sent a copy of the book and had the costs of the ingredients covered. We also received a fun Doodle Apron! All thoughts and opinions are my own.