When butternut squash is in season this is one of my favourite ways to cook with it. I use the bottom part to make a velvety sauce and the top part, I dice it and roast it to serve on top. With fresh herbs like rosemary and sage, this butternut squash risotto is creamy, comforting and full of cosy, winter flavours.

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1 small brown onion

½ small butternut squash

150g pancetta (or 300g chestnut mushrooms)

1 sprig of rosemary

750ml vegetable stock, plus 100ml extra

180g arborio rice

1 sprig of sage

100g Grana Padano cheese

100ml white wine

2 tbsp unsalted butter

Extra virgin olive oil

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

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1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C (fan oven).

2. Prepare the butternut squash. First use a peeler to remove the skin, then cut the butternut squash in half to divide the bottom part and the top. Scoop out the seeds but don’t throw them away - roast them with salt, black pepper and olive oil for a nice snack. Slice the bottom part of the butternut squash into wedges and the top part into 2cm cubes.

3. Transfer both the wedges and the diced pieces to a oven tray. Season them with a good drizzle of olive oil, a pinch of sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and the rosemary leaves. Cut the onion in half, keeping the skin on and add this to the tray as well, skin side up. Roast everything in the oven until the onions and butternut squash are nice and soft, about 30 to 40 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, dice the pancetta nice and small and add it to a cold pan that's big enough to cook the risotto. Turn the heat on to a medium heat and slowly render the fat. If you are using mushrooms, slice these nice and fine and cook them with a generous drizzle of olive oil until golden.

5. Once the pancetta has released its own fat and is nice and golden, add the rice, give it a nice stir and toast it for a few minutes. Pour in the wine and cook off the alcohol.

6. Add the stock ladle by ladle and stir the rice from now and then to get a creamy risotto. Do not add salt yet as the pancetta is well salted already but if you're using mushrooms instead you can add a pinch now.

7. Once the squash and onion are fully cooked, discard the skin from the onion and add them to a blender along with the squash wedges (leaving the diced squash for later), the Grana Padano cheese chopped into small cubes and a little bit of stock. Blitz it all together until it's nice and smooth. If the sauce is too thick or isn't velvety enough, add more stock and blitz again.

8. Pour the sauce into the risotto and stir well. Cook for a further 2 minutes or until the rice is fully cooked. Add the ½ ladle of stock, stir in a the butter and give it a good stir. Cover it and let it rest for five minutes.

9. Meanwhile in a separate pan fry the sage leaves until nice and crispy.

10. Serve up, top with diced butternut squash pieces and the crispy sage.