Risotto with Butternut Squash and Sage

You can't leave the kitchen for the last 25 minutes, so put on some good music. This is at its best served immediately with a sprinkle of Parmesan and a few fried sage leaves on top. The recipe is adapted from a photocopied recipe that Karen Thorsell sent to me; it looks like it came from the New York Times.

Serves 4

6 cups vegetable broth (in a pinch, simmer water with peppercorns, bay leaf, onion & a splash of dry vermouth for 20 minutes)
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, divided use
2 onions, diced (I used red onions because that's what I had)
1 tbsp. fresh minced sage, plus 8 or more sage leaves for frying
~1 lb. butternut squash, peeled & cut into ~3/4-inch cubes
1 cup white wine (something you'd like to drink)
1 1/4 cups arborio or other short-grain rice
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano

To fry sage leaves for garnish: heat 2 tbsp. olive oil in a small skillet until quite hot. Add sage leaves and saute, turning once, until crisp. Drain on a paper towel. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt.

Bring vegetable broth to a simmer and keep warm over low heat.

Heat oil and 1 tbsp. of the butter in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add onion and saute over medium heat until translucent--about 5 minutes. Stir in minced sage and cook 30 seconds. Stir in squash. Add wine and 1 cup broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 25 minutes. Squash will be very tender.

Using a wooden spoon, stir in rice. Add 1/2 cup of the warm broth and cook,stirring frequently, until rice absorbs liquid. Continue adding broth in 1/2-cup increments, stirring, until rice is creamy and soft but still a bit al dente--about 25 minutes. (Use hot water if you run out of broth.)

Remove pot from heat and vigorously stir in remaining tbsp. butter with 1/2 cup of the Parmesan. Add salt and pepper to taste. Divide risotto among individual soup bowls and garnish with fried sage leaves. Serve immediately with more grated cheese passed at the table.