Pumpkin Risotto

Photography by Shutterstock.com and alma.com

Load your guests up with this carb-loaded bowl of pumpkin, rice and parmesan.

A few artfully placed sprigs of rosemary on top does more than look classy, this pop of flavor really puts the OH in risotto.

• 1 lb. 5 oz. butternut or kent pumpkin (winter squash), peeled and cut into ¾-in. chunks
  

• 2½ tablespoons olive oil
  

• 5 cups vegetable or chicken stock
  

• 2¾ oz. butter
  

• 1 onion, finely chopped
  

• 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
  

• 1 bay leaf
  

• 2 thyme sprigs
  

• 1½ cups arborio rice
  

• ½ cup dry white wine
  

• ½ cup finely grated parmesan
  

• A few rosemary sprigs
  

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 340°F. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Put the pumpkin in a large bowl. Drizzle with 1½ tablespoons of the olive oil, sprinkle generously with sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper and toss to combine. Place on the lined baking tray and roast for 30 minutes, or until golden.
3. Pour the stock into a saucepan and bring just to the boil. Turn off the heat.
4. In a large shallow saucepan or deep frying pan, heat the remaining olive oil and a third of the butter. Cook the onion over low heat for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, bay leaf, thyme sprigs and rice, stirring to coat the rice in the oil.
5. Stir in the wine. Gradually add the hot stock, a ladleful at a time, stirring until the stock has been almost absorbed. Keep adding the stock gradually, cooking over low heat.
6. Stir in the pumpkin with the last addition of stock, mashing about half the pumpkin lightly with a fork as you add it. Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs, discarding the bay leaf, and stripping the leaves off the thyme and adding them back into the risotto. Taste the rice to ensure it is cooked then stir through the parmesan and remaining butter. Serve garnished with rosemary sprigs, if you like.

Recipes from Oh My Gourd! by Jack Hallow. Smith Street Books, 2023. Photography © Shutterstock.com and Alamy.com.