Brilliant Bacon & Butternut Squash Risotto
with Chilli and Cheese
Raise the risotto stakes with this tasty dish. Take a bite of soft, seasoned butternut squash with delicious bacon all mixed into an al dente risotto.
Boxes and ingredients are packed in facilities that handles Peanut, Nuts, Sesame, Fish, Crustaceans, Milk, Egg, Mustard, Celery, Soya, Gluten and Sulphites. Due to the war in Ukraine, it has been necessary to substitute sunflower oil with rapeseed oil in some products without a label change. The FSA have advised that allergic reactions to rapeseed oil are rare.
Ingredients
300
Diced Butternut Squash
1
Onion
1
Flat Leaf Parsley
½
Red Chilli
1
Garlic Clove
4
Streaky Bacon
20
Vegetable Stock Paste
(Contains Celery)
175
Risotto Rice
40
Grated Hard Italian Style Cheese
(Contains Milk, Egg)
½
Lemon
Not included in your delivery
750
Water
Nutritional information
Utensils
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 200°C. Pop the diced butternut squash onto a large baking tray. Drizzle with oil, season with salt and pepper then toss to coat. Spread them out in a single layer. When the oven is hot, roast on the top shelf until golden and tender, 20-30 mins. Turn halfway.
Meanwhile, halve, peel and chop the onion into small pieces. Roughly chop the parsley (stalks and all). Halve the red chilli lengthways, deseed and finely chop. Peel and grate the garlic (or use a garlic press). Chop the bacon rashers widthways into 1cm wide strips. TIP: Use scissors to cut the bacon. IMPORTANT: Wash your hands and equipment after handling raw meat.
Pour the water (see ingredients for amount) into a medium saucepan on high heat. Add the stock paste and stir to combine. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Meanwhile, heat a drizzle of oil in another large saucepan on medium heat. Add the onion and bacon. Stir and cook until the onion is soft and the bacon is browned, 5-6 mins. IMPORTANT: Cook lardons thoroughly.
Add the chilli and the garlic. Cook for 1 min, then add the risotto rice. Stir and cook until the edges of the rice are translucent, 1-2 mins. Stir in a ladle of your stock. When the stock has been absorbed by the rice, stir in another ladle. Keep the pan on medium heat and continue stirring in stock, letting it absorb each time. The cooking time should take 20-25 mins and your risotto is done when your rice is ‘al dente’ - cooked through but with a tiny bit of firmness left in the middle.
Once the risotto is ready, remove from the heat. Add the cooked butternut squash, hard Italian style cheese, three quarters of the parsley and a knob of butter (if you have some). Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Halve the lemon, then squeeze lemon juice into the risotto to taste. Serve the bacon and butternut squash risotto in bowls with the remaining parsley sprinkled over the top. Enjoy!
