Butternut Squash Risotto

My produce items: Leftover 1/2 cooked butternut squash, onion, thyme (sorry no picture).

1/2 cooked butternut squash
1/2 cup of chopped onion
1 clove of minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 box of arborio rice (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
1/4 cup of mascarpone cheese
2 tablespoons of butter
1 stems worth of fresh thyme leaves

In a large skillet heat olive oil.  Add in onion, garlic, thyme and salt.  Cook for a few minutes.  Add in arborio rice and stir to coat evenly and give it a little toast.  Add in white wine.  Stir and cook until wine evaporates.  

Heat up chicken broth and water in a saucepan.  Slowly add in broth water mixture to the rice one cup at a time.  Add in one cup and stir slowly until it evaporates, then add in another cup and repeat.  Continue until broth and water have been used up and rice is soft (about 1 hour).  Continually stir the rice so that the bottom doesn't stick to the pan and burn (this rice needs a lot of attention as it cooks very slowly).

Gently fold in butter and parmesan cheese.  Stir slowly until butter and cheese melt evenly throughout.

Scoop out cooked butternut squash.  In a mixing bowl whip butternut squash and mascarpone cheese into a puree.  Slowly fold into the arborio rice until everything is very well and evenly mixed throughout.

Serves: A Lot (bring this to a big dinner or luncheon)

Final Verdict: Really good but really rich.

This was very tasty but quite rich.  A little serving will do you.  It's a nice side to compliment a meal but I would not recommend eating it on its own as a meal because it's so rich.  The flavors are delicious and you'll feel like you're eating in a fancy restaurant but again it can be very powerful on your stomach if you eat too much (it must be the cheese).  I made my own variation of this recipe based off of several internet recipes I found so there isn't one real credible source.  I just put my own spin on it.  I wasn't sure about the thyme but it was in my produce box so I added a little of it, though I didn't think it was noticeable.  Overall, I guess I could have done without the mascarpone and it would have been less rich.  Without the butternut squash it would just be regular risotto.  This recipe produced an entire bowl full of it so I don't actually know how many people it would feed (an entire skillet's worth).