Pumpkin Risotto

Ingredients for 8 portions

For the risotto:
350g of Arborio rice
500g of pumpkin
800ml of beef or vegetable stock
2 shallots (small onions)
40g butter
40g grated parmesan
Nutmeg (to taste)
Salt and pepper (to taste)

Preparation:
Remove the skin and seeds from the pumpkin and cut into small pieces. Melt 30g of the butter in a non-stick saucepan and soften the finely sliced shallots. Add the pumpkin, grated nutmeg and let it cook on a high heat for a couple of minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon. Add a ladle of hot stock, cover and let this cook on a moderate gas for about 15 mins. Add the rice, leave it to heat up (toast) and continue cooking by adding bit by bit the remaining stock. Just before the end of the cooking, turn the heat off and stir in the parmesan and the remaining butter.

Serve the risotto straight onto a bed of chicory leaves on each plate. Decorate with a few slivers of fresh pumpkin and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Carole this sounds great. I do have a dumb question..........when you say pumpkin do you mean like a fresh pumpkin that we'd carve for halloween? (told you it was dumb)

Yes the regular (halloween) type of orange pumpkin OR the smaller green kind with the (often) nobbly skin... Both have a distinct but pleasant flavour, so either can be used.






I've also got a tasty recipe for stuffed and oven baked green pumpkin if anyone's interested....

Thanks Carole. I'll be making a trial run with your recipe in the next week or so. I'll let you know how it goes.