Butternut Squash Risotto

All right risotto lovers, here is a great recipe for a very seasonal risotto, with pureed butternut squash, sage, nutmeg and finished with mascarpone cheese. This dish is not for the impatient, risotto needs to be nurtured and tended to while you are cooking it. You need two tools to make the perfect risotto, a wooden spoon and a heavy bottom wide mouthed pot. Here is my recipe for Butternut Squash Risotto....

For the squash puree
1 whole butternut squash, peeled, cut in half, seeded and then cubed
2 cups water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
salt and pepper

For the risotto
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
5 whole sage leaves
1 1/2 cups Arborio or Carnaroli rice
1/4 cup dry vermouth
4-5 cups hot vegetable stock
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese

For the puree
Place the squash and water in a pot bring to a boil, go once around the pan with kosher salt. Cook squash until tender. Strain water and put squash in a mixing bowl. Using a potato masher, mash squash with the butter and nutmeg. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Set aside

For the risotto
In a saucepan place vegetable stock and bring to a simmer, keep on the heat for the duration of the cooking process. In a wide mouth pot, melt the butter and then add the sage leaves. Let the herb flavor the butter. Add the rice and stir with wooden spoon. Make sure all the rice is coated with the butter. Add the vermouth and let alcohol cook off (if using gas stove, you may want to remove pan from the flame before adding vermouth), stirring the rice. When the liquid is absorbed add two ladles full of stock, making sure the rice is covered and have the flame on medium. When liquid is absorbed, add two more ladles full of stock and repeat this process. Keep doing this until rice is tender. Season with salt and pepper. Fold in the squash and Parmesan and right before serving fold in mascarpone cheese. The final dish should not be dry, it should be creamy and the rice should be tender, not mush. Enjoy!