Butternut Squash Risotto

Deer season opened Saturday. I went out at five in the morning, stand south of Claremore, cold clear predawn that smelled like fall should smell. Got a doe just after seven, same stand, same crossing, same shot. The ritual is the ritual. Danny cannot come. Danny is on the porch at Terry's when I drive by with the cooler and he is awake and he asks how it went and I tell him and he nods and that is the passing of the knowledge, that is the whole ceremony, the words across the porch railing between a man who taught and a man who learned and now goes while the teacher stays home.

Hannah has been doing more writing for the nutrition program this fall — documentation of traditional foodways, the kind that goes into the official Cherokee Nation curriculum. She asked me Sunday if she could write about my kanuchi, use it as an example of how traditional recipe knowledge can be transmitted outside of formal educational settings, how a welder learns to make the dish through persistence and feedback from elders. I said yes. I said write whatever is true. She said: "It is a good story." I said: "I was trying to make kanuchi, not a story." She said: "That is what makes it a good story."

Caleb went to his first NA meeting in Tulsa on Monday. He called to tell me. He said it was different from what he had expected — different from the meetings he had attended before going inpatient. He said he sat next to a man from Tahlequah who was Cherokee and sober for twelve years and they talked for an hour after the meeting. He said the man had been through the cultural program too. He said it felt like the right room. I said: "Then it is the right room." He said: "Yeah." Right rooms are hard to find. When you find one you stay in it.

When I got back from the stand Saturday, after the doe was broken down and the cooler packed, I wanted something on the stove that matched the morning — something slow, something that smelled like fall the way the predawn had smelled like fall. Butternut squash risotto is that kind of dish. You stand at the stove and you stir and you wait, and the waiting is part of it, and the stirring is part of it. Hannah was at the table writing about kanuchi and I was at the stove making risotto and Caleb called with good news, and it was a full day, the kind of day that deserves a meal you made with your hands.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 medium butternut squash (about 2 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Salt and black pepper to taste
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1 cup water
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon fresh sage, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions

Roast the squash. Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss butternut squash cubes with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, and pepper on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, turning once, until tender and lightly caramelized. Set aside.
Heat the broth. Combine broth and water in a saucepan and bring to a low simmer. Keep warm over low heat while you build the risotto.
Start the risotto base. In a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
Toast the rice. Add Arborio rice to the pot and stir to coat in the oil and butter. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until the edges of the grains turn slightly translucent.
Deglaze with wine. Pour in the white wine and stir until it is fully absorbed, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Build the risotto. Add warm broth one ladleful at a time (about 3/4 cup), stirring frequently and waiting until each addition is mostly absorbed before adding the next. Continue for 18 to 22 minutes, until the rice is creamy and tender but still has a slight bite at the center.
Fold in the squash. Gently fold in the roasted butternut squash, Parmesan, sage, and nutmeg. Stir until the cheese is melted and everything is combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve. Spoon into warm bowls and top with an extra sprinkle of Parmesan and sage if desired. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Butternut Squash Risotto — What the Season Gives You