Kirk Haworth’s butternut squash risotto with toasted chestnuts, pumpkin seeds and crispy sage

Serves 6 Starters and mains

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Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C F/Gas 4. Place the 3 whole butternut squash on a tray and bake for 1 hour, until soft. Allow to cool, cut in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds.

Using a spoon, scoop out 300g of squash from the skin, and set aside for the stock. Scoop out the rest of the squash and, using a fork, gently crush the rest of the squash in a bowl with a touch of olive oil and salt. Set aside.

Next, make a butternut squash stock. In a medium saucepan add 1.8 litres water, 9 sage sprigs, 9 thyme sprigs, the star anise, crushed juniper, stock cubes and white miso and bring to a simmer. Turn down the heat and allow to infuse for 20 minutes, then pass it all through a fine sieve.

In a blender, add the cooked butternut squash to the stock. Blitz until smooth. Pass through a sieve again and keep warm.

Break up the chestnuts into small pieces. Place on a tray and cook at 180C/160C F/Gas 4 for around 10 minutes, until golden and nicely toasted.

Keeping your oven at the same temperature, place the pumpkin seeds on a tray and cook for around 6-8 minutes, until slightly golden and toasty.

Place 500ml of sunflower oil in a large pot and heat to approx. 180C (use a cook’s digital thermometer if you have one). Drop 24 sage leaves in for 10 seconds, until crispy. Remove the sage with a perforated spoon and place on a kitchen paper-lined tray. Season with a pinch of salt.

To make the risotto, bring a medium saucepan to a low heat. Add the 300ml of olive oil, 3 diced banana shallots, 6 grated garlic cloves and a pinch of salt and slowly cook for around 10 minutes, until soft and translucent with no colour. Add the risotto rice and gently stir with a spatula, then turn up the heat and add the white wine. Reduce the white wine (this will take a few minutes) until there is no liquid left, then turn down the heat to medium. Start to slowly add the stock, one ladle at a time (around 100ml per ladle), while gently stirring to make sure there is no rice left on the sides of the pan. As the rice cooks, the stock will reduce, so keep adding in small amounts until the rice is soft but with a slight bite. You may have a little extra stock left over but that’s okay.

Fold in the chestnuts gently and add a squeeze of half a lemon right at the end. Check the seasoning.

To serve, place 1 generous tbsp of the crushed butternut squash into the bottom of each bowl. Add your risotto on top – around 6 heaped tbsp per bowl. Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds over the top. Add 1tsp of crushed butternut in the centre, on top. Finally, lay 4 pieces of crispy sage over the top in each bowl.