Roasted butternut, truffle oil and fried curry leaf risotto
Carbo-loading before the race
I only started training for the 14 km Grape Run about three weeks ago. I was pretty nervous, as the most I’d ever ran was 7 kilometres and so I knew a good meal the night before was essential. Rather than making a pasta, I decided to make a risotto. It was delicious, comforting, and got me to the finish line the next day.
If you haven’t made a risotto before, I highly recommend that you read through the five essential steps to making a good risotto. Risotto demands patience and following a few steps religiously.
Ingredients to make a roasted butternut, truffle oil and fried curry leaf risotto
(for 4 servings)
1 medium butternut
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
2 tbsp canola or sunflower oil
1 handful fresh curry leaves
Pinch of salt
3 tbsp butter
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
1½ cups Arborio rice
½ cup dry white wine (optional but recommended)
± 4–5 cups vegetable stock (kept warm)
½ cup grated Parmesan (or more to taste)
1–2 tsp truffle oil (white truffle oil works best here)
Extra salt & pepper to taste
How to make the risotto step-by-step
Preheat oven to 200°C.
Peel one butternut and cut into cubes (about 3 cups).
Toss the butternut cubes with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Spread on a tray and roast 25–30 minutes, until soft and lightly caramelised.
Mash half of it into a smooth purée; keep the rest in chunks.
Next, prepare the curry leaves (optional):
Heat canola or sunflower oil in a small pan over medium heat.
Add the curry leaves — they will sizzle instantly.
Fry for 20–30 seconds until crisp.
Remove and drain on a paper towel; sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
Set the curry leaves aside, you will use them at the end as garnish.
Now to make the risotto base. In a large pot, melt 2 tbsp butter over medium heat. Chop the onion into fine pieces and cook for 5–7 minutes until soft and translucent.
Mince the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
Add Arborio rice and stir to coat every grain with butter and aromatics; toast the rice without any liquid for about one to two minutes.
Pour in the white wine and let it cook off until mostly absorbed.
Add a ladle of warm stock, stirring until absorbed. Continue adding stock a ladle at a time, stirring often, letting each addition absorb before adding more. This is when you cannot leave the pan alone - keep stirring!
After about 12 minutes, stir in the butternut purée and half the butternut chunks.
Cook for another 5–7 minutes, adding stock until the rice is al dente and creamy.
To finish the dish stir in the remaining 1 tbsp butter, grated parmesan and a pinch of pepper.
Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Drizzle over the truffle oil. Start with 1 tsp and add more to taste. Use the truffle lightly so it doesn’t overpower.
Gently fold in the remaining roasted butternut chunks.
Serve the risotto in the individual bowls for each person and finish off your dish by garnishing with the crispy fried curry leaves, and adding some extra Parmesan. Grind some black pepper over and optionally add a few drops more truffle oil to taste. If you want extra richness, stir in a splash of cream at the end.
A squeeze of lemon and some lemon rind brightens the whole dish.
Enjoy! Please tag me on Instagram if you’ve made this recipe, I’d love to see it!
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About Shawn Godfrey
Photo credit: Niki M Photography
Shawn Godfrey is an entrepreneur based in Cape Town, South Africa. After the Covid-19 lockdown saw his business in financial distress, cooking was the creative outlet that helped to keep him sane. To keep track of his recipes, and encourage friends and families to join him, he starts his instagram account The Roasted Dad.
Fast-forward to late 2021 - on a whim Shawn (encouraged by his wife Lianne) enters MasterChef South Africa. It is a crazy time of life: running a 200 people business and struggling to keep it profitable, two small children with a third on the way, and about to move into a new house. But when Shawn gets selected to be one of the 20 contestants participating in the fourth season of MasterChef South Africa, he decides to go all in. Leaving his 7-month-pregnant wife to look after their then three and one-year-old children, he battles it out and comes back home five weeks later with the trophy and a million rand prize money in his pocket.
It all started with an Instagram account, but The Roasted Dad is so much more now. Shawn has stayed his entrepreneurial self and whilst he hosts Private Dinner Parties and Cook-with-Me Demos, does Restaurant Take-Overs, he still runs the lighting company and several other businesses.
On his blog, Shawn shares Restaurant Reviews and Accommodation Reviews, and gives an insight into the wild and wonderful life he leads together with his wife Lianne, and their three children Aiden (6), Olivia (4) and Harvey (2).
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I love a good stir fry, as it’s a great way to add many different vegetables to your dish. For this recipe, I decided to try something I’d never done before and make an ‘upside down stir fry’. This basically means that you assemble your dish in reverse in a bowl, and then place a flat plate upside down on top before gently turning your dish the right way around. Find the recipe below and try make yours at home!