Pumpkin risotto
Creamy Pumpkin Risotto with Bacon and Leeks. A comforting autumnal risotto with a great depth of flavour.
Ingredients
- 300 g pumpkin - remove skin, discard seeds and the chop in small cubes (if you puree some of the pumpkin it will give the dish a warming orange glow!)
- 4 bacon slices - chopped into 1 cm pieces. Our butchers dry-cured bacon is particularly flavoursome!
- 1 leek - chop finely
- 25 ml olive oil
- 1-2 tbsp butter
- 4 garlic cloves - crushed
- 210 g arborio rice
- 950 ml stock - vegetable or chicken
- 235 ml white wine
- 30 g parmigiano reggiano cheese
- black pepper - seasoning
- walnut pieces - optional. Roast and garnish dish.
Instructions
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Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Chop up the pumpkin into 1.5cm cubes. Put it on a baking tray, drizzle over some oil, then roast for 30 mins.
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Heat the olive oil and 1 tbsp of butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the leeks and cook for about five minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic and cook for two more minutes. Add the bacon and fry until it starts to get crispy.
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Add the rice and cook, stirring, for a few minutes until it is slightly toasted. Add about a quarter (235ml) of stock and cook, stirring, until it has been absorbed into the rice. Repeat this process with the remaining stock and the white wine until it reaches the right consistency - approx 15 minutes. The rice should remain on the al dente side (slightly hard when bitten) because the rice continues to cook when removed from the heat.
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When the rice is finished, stir in the roasted pumpkin, parmigiano reggiano cheese, the remaining butter, black pepper and cook for a further 1-2 minutes.
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Garnish with chopped, roasted walnuts (optional). Serve immediately.