Pumpkin Risotto

Because it is October and the risotto is so easy and fun to vary, I tried a risotto with baked pumpkin. You’ll get a creamy texture and a yellowish autumn shade together with extra sweetness and flavour. I baked the pumpkin until it got dark on the edges, and mashed it before I added it to the risotto. The rest of the recipe is quite classic but you have it here…

The recipe …

Prepare the baked pumpkin after the recipe presented in “Baked Pumpkin Salad With Grilled Halloumi” recipe:

Preheat the oven to 210C with ventilation.Cut the pumpkin in 1.5 - 2 cm slices and arrange them in a baking tray on baking paper.Bake the pumpkin about 40 minutes then turn the oven on grill to add a little bit of colour.

The risotto liquid…A chicken or a vegetable stock is a good way to start. If you don’t have it prepared in advance you cam make a quick flavourful soup by gently simmering carrots, onions and celery (and any vegetable you prefer - just remember that the risotto will borrow more or less the flavour of the liquid). For 100 grams of rice you need about 400 - 450 ml of liquid but you can use also hot if you don’t have enough liquid (or the liquid you prepared is more concentrated).

Finely chop a medium onion and place it into a thick pot with two table spoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt, then add a ladle of soup and bring to a simmer. (The original recipe requires the sautéed onion but I’ll go a bit lighter here). From now we apply the risotto method.

Any quality rice for risotto works (I used Arborio). Start by adding all the rice quantity in the thick pot where the liquid is simmering, keep it on low heat and mix often until the rice incorporates all the liquid, then add more liquid with a ladle. Continue mixing and adding small quantities of hot liquid until the risotto becomes soft and creamy. This process can take between 25 to 34 minutes depending on the rice you are using. With 5 minutes before turning off the heat, add a pinch of salt, a drizzle of olive oil and the mashed baked pumpkin and mix well. Also at this point you can add some chopped celery and carrots from the risotto liquid. Let the risotto get to a boil again then turn off the heat. Mix well and taste for salt. Let it rest 5-10 minutes. Some roasted pumpkin seeds and a lemon squeeze on the top and … Enjoy !