Baked Butternut & Kale Risotto
Thanks to: Meg van der Kruik
Ever versatile and ever popular, risotto has been a staple in restaurants and homes for as long as anyone can remember. Meg from Beard + Bonnet brings a couple surprising twists to this classic with the addition of butternut squash and kale. It’s full of flavor, and full of reasons to cook it again and again.
(Serves: 4-6)
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons Massel Chicken Style Stock Powder
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon Massel Chicken Style Liquid Stock, divided
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 large leek, white and light green portions, halved, rinsed well and thinly sliced
- 450g/1lb peeled and seeded butternut squash, cut into a small dice
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
- 1½ cups Arborio rice
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 4¼ cups water
- 1 bunch Tuscan kale, ribs removed and leaves thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese or Tuscano cheese
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
- 2 tablespoons Italian flat leaf parsley to garnish
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
Warm 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the leeks and butternut squash, stirring occasionally until soft (about 8-10 minutes).
Add the garlic, thyme and Massel Stock Powder Chicken Style, cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly toasted (2-3 minutes). Add the wine and cook for 1 minute, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the Dutch oven with your spoon.
In a measuring cup combine the 4¼ cups water with ¼ cup Massel Liquid Stock Chicken Style; stir to combine.
Add 3 cups of the stock to the Dutch oven; increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer.
Cover the pot, transfer to the oven and bake, stirring once halfway through, until the rice is tender and all of the liquid has absorbed (about 25-30 minutes).
While the risotto is baking, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the tablespoon of Massel Liquid Stock Chicken Style, kale and pepper to the pan. Cook stirring frequently until the kale has wilted (about 3-5 minutes).
When the risotto has finished baking, add the remaining 1¼ cups of broth to the risotto, then stir in the cooked kale, cheese and butter. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.
Massel products used in this recipe:
