Butternut Squash Wheatberry Mock Risotto

Tonight I had a mini victory in the kitchen.

I made a completely vegetarian dinner and Ryan didn’t even bat an eye at the lack of meat in the dish.

Ryan is actually pretty great about eating vegetarian dishes, but he’ll sometimes say something like, “I bet this would be amazing with chicken in it.”

Yeah, yeah.

You will eat your beans and you will like them!

Well, tonight Ryan didn’t even mention the fact that no meat was found anywhere near our dinner. In fact, he said it was really great and “the perfect winter meal” because it was so warm and comforting.

Butternut Squash Wheatberry Mock Risotto

• Serves: Two as an entrée, four as a side dish
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 large onion, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• 1 cup wheatberries
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 heaping cups butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
• 3 cups fresh spinach

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a medium size pot over medium heat. Add onions and thyme and cook until onions are slightly soft, about five minutes. Add wheatberries and allow to cook, stirring constantly, for approximately two minutes.
2. Turn the heat to medium-high. Add broth and butternut squash. Stir constantly and allow to simmer until broth is nearly completely dissolved and butternut squash breaks down and becomes creamy (somewhat like mashed potatoes), approximately 25 – 30 minutes.
3. Stir in Parmesan cheese.
4. Add spinach and stir until leaves are somewhat wilted.
5. Divide up mock risotto and enjoy!

Something about this dish reminded me so much of creamy risotto, but with a chewier texture that I really enjoyed thanks to the wheatberries.

This was definitely one of my favorite meals I’ve made in a while. I also think it would be a great side dish on Thanksgiving. The butternut squash in the dish simply screams fall!

And now I wish we had leftovers.