Couscous Risotto with Butternut Squash and Carrots

Celebrate fall with this creamy and delicious Couscous Risotto with Butternut Squash and Carrots topped with Parmesan cheese!

It is officially fall now and who else is excited!!?

I know, I am! Is it too early to think of Thanksgiving already? It is one of my favorite Fall holidays and it gets me very excited to think about it every year.

Even though we do not traditionally celebrate Thanksgiving, I have picked it up and sort of made it a new tradition, after we have been in this country for the last 10 years or so. After all, it is one of the biggest food holidays, where everything is around food and family and having a fun time. What’s not to love about it?

As I write this I think of my first Thanksgiving here. I made a roast chicken ( as there were not many turkey lovers in the meat eating set of folks), butternut squash lasagna, spiced cranberry sauce, some stuffing (i don't remember what), a green beans thing and a roasted cauliflower dish, mashed potatoes, of course and a pumpkin pecan pie. I so very much enjoyed cooking all morning that day. What with oven on and all it was so warm and nice in the kitchen. I have managed to recreate that every year we are in the country for Thanksgiving.

I made this couscous risotto with butternut squash for lunch on Saturday along with some roasted red potatoes and artichokes to go with it. I usually love couscous, especially the Israeli couscous and when I saw this recipe on the the Food Network magazine for a barley risotto made in the slow cooker with squash and mushrooms, I immediately thought of how a couscous risotto will be like? So I decided to go ahead and make some to see how it will be like. How else am I to know, right? Since couscous does not require too much coking time, I did not go with the slow cooker method, I just cooked it the regular way you usually make risotto. This would make a great vegetarian main dish for Thanksgiving too.

Couscous Risotto with Butternut Squash and Carrots – The Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 box (around 8 oz), Israeli couscous
• 2 teaspoon Olive Oil
• 1 cup Chopped Shallots
• 1 cup Chopped Carrots
• 1 cup Chopped Butternut Squash
• ½ cup Dry White Wine
• 3 cups (or as required) Vegetable Stock
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ½ cup Grated Parmesan cheese

Method:

Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan, I used an enameled cast iron pot. Add the shallots and sauté till they are slightly translucent. Add the carrot to the pan and sauté for a few minutes. Now add the squash and the couscous. Sauté for a few minutes, making sure it doesn't stick to the pan.

Meanwhile, heat the stock in a different pan and keep it simmering.

Now add the white wine to the couscous mix and give it a few quick stirs. Add salt and pepper too.  Using a deep ladle, add the stock to the couscous mix a little by little. Keep stirring the couscous. Once the stock has evaporated, add a little more, stir more and continue till the couscous is cooked really well. If you need more stock, add to the pan and heat it up before adding to the couscous.

Add the grated parmesan on top and serve warm.