Pumpkin Risotto

• porce: 6ish
• aktivní čas: 30 minutes or so
• celkový čas: 1hr to 1 and a half hour

Ingredience

1 butternut pumpkin (but any type will do, really)

1 and a half cups of Arborio rice

1 cup fresh basil

Quarter of a cup of pine nuts

1 capsicum (a red or a green, or half of both)

Tablespoon dried oregano (or less, if you like)

Tablespoon dried thyme (or less, if you like)

Parmesan

2/3 fresh chillies (chilli powder will do, but it's not as good)

2 or 3 cloves of garlic

1 and a half cups of white wine (can be cheap and nasty, but if you buy something drinkable, you can have some while you cook without gagging)

1 onion, chopped fine

olive oil

5 cups of vegetable stock

Ground pepper

Optional:

mushrooms

eggplant

green beans

2 chicken breast fillets

1 peperoni

2 Chorizo sausage

2 or 3 rashes of bacon

chicken stock instead of vegetable

Pokyny

Preparation

Preheat oven to 210 degrees cut pumpkin into smallish cubes, and place in oven tray. Drizzle some olive oil over the cubes, rub it in with a sensuous motion, possibly with a sultry look on your face, and pop it in the oven. I've no idea how long it'll take, but check it after 15 minutes. You want the pumpkin to be cooked but not soft, otherwise it'll liquidise in the risotto. Pull it out and set aside when done.

If you're adding chicken to it, fry up or grill the chicken so that it's char-grilled, then set aside to cool. Once cool, slice cross ways into small bits, a little larger than the pumpkin. Set aside.

heat some olive oil in a big saucepan. Put the pine nuts in, stir until brown. Take them out of the pan and set aside.

Risotto

Add more olive oil to the pan.

Chuck in the onion, diced up small, and fry it up.

While frying, add the dried herbs, chilli, garlic, and a few grinds of pepper.

If you want to add one of the meat options (with the exception of the chicken), add it now and fry until cooked.

Once onion (and additions) is done, put the capsicum and any other vegetables into the pan.

Once they're done, put the rice in the pan, stirring constantly.

Cook the rice until the grains start to go a little translucent. It shouldn't take long.

Put the wine in the pan, and stir until it mostly simmers away, leaving the lovely, lovely wine taste.

Now the good part

Get a large oven-safe thing with a lid that seals fairly well. A Dutch-oven or camp oven or casserole dish or something. If you have one that can be used on the stove top as well as put in the oven, all the better, use it to fry up the onion and everything in from the start. If not, oh well, neither do we.

Put the fried up goodness and all its juices into the pot, and add the stock to the pot with it. Give it a good stir.

Chuck about a quarter to a third of the pumpkin to the pot. Put the lid on, and pop in the oven, which should still be about 210 degrees. Walk away. Do it!

Have a beer. Or wine. Or Sangria. Make up your own mind.

Come back in about half an hour, although it won't hurt to check it every now and then. If it looks almost done, give it a stir.

Chuck in and stir in whatever's left over, such as the chicken and pumpkin, except the basil, and pop back into the oven for 5/10 minutes. Also, chuck in a small handful of shaved or grated Parmesan. Don't just chuck in the whole block, that's silly and won't work.

After 5/10 minutes, pull it out, add the basil and stir it until it's wilted.

Serve with Parmesan on top, and a little black pepper.