Caramelised butternut risotto with sage and pine nuts

Pete Goffe-Wood knows how to entertain with style and, importantly, ease. His three course Eat For The Earth menu is a stunner. Let’s hope it inspires you to register your own Eat For The Earth lunch.

Pete Goffe-Wood’s Menu 1

Tagliatelle with prawns, squid, parsley, garlic, tomato and lemon

Caramelised butternut risotto with crisp sage and pine nuts

Lemon pots and shortbread

Download the printable version of this recipe.

Ingredients (serves 6):
1 large butternut
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
1 cup butter
2 litres chicken stock
200g Parmesan
1 cup sage leaves
2 tbsp pine nuts
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
3 tbsp soft brown sugar
1 ½ cup Arborio rice
Salt and pepper

Method:
1. Peel and de-seed your butternut. Put the peel and seeds into the chicken stock and bring to the boil.
2. Roughly chop the butternut, place on a baking tray, dab with a little butter, season with cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar and a little salt and pepper.
3. Place in a 180°C oven and roast until the butternut is soft and begins to caramelise.
4. Finely chop the onions and garlic. Sweat the onions and garlic in a saucepan with a little butter until soft and translucent. Add the rice and stir for a couple of minutes until the rice is also translucent.
5. Strain the chicken stock and pour a ladle full at a time onto the rice, stirring occasionally. Continue this process until all the liquid has been used and the rice is cooked.
6. Remove from the heat and add the roasted butternut and Parmesan and season to taste.
7. To serve, heat a little butter in a pan, add the pine nuts and sage leaves and fry until the sage is crisp and the pine nuts are golden brown.
8. Pour over the risotto and garnish liberally with shaved Parmesan.

Wine notes:
The richness of this dish is screaming out for wood: a wooded Chenin Blanc with an acidic edge would do the trick or a fruity oaked Chardonnay.

Thanks to Pete, Kitchen Cowboys and Lannice Snyman Publishing for this gorgeous recipe and photo. Thanks also to Tessa Holding for the photo of Pete below.

Check out Pete’s dessert, lemon pots with shortbread. How could anyone resist a lunch like this?