pumpkin and leek risotto

D’s youngest brother came to dinner last night. Since their parents have been away, all he’s been eating is frozen dinners and takeout, because the only thing he claims to be able to cook is enchiladas, and he has run out of corn tortillas. Unfortunately, he hates mushrooms, so at the last minute I had to revise my original dinner plan and replace it with a pumpkin and leek risotto, which I served with a spinach and sundried tomato pasta salad, and garlic bread.




I don’t know how N felt about it all, but I’m really happy with how the risotto turned out.


pumpkin and leek risotto

Boiling the pumpkin and then frying in a frypan makes the pumpkin soft but crispy. This is also an awesome way to prepare pumpkin for pizzas. If your preference is for roasting instead, feel free, but it will add a little bit to the overall cooking time.

ingredients
one pumpkin (in small cubes)
sage
a shake or three of ground nutmeg
pinch of thyme
two cups arborio rice
five cups stock
half red onion
one leek (white part only)
one clove garlic (minced)


method

Boil the pumpkin until almost cooked, then fry in a fry pan for five or six minutes.

Dice the onion, and in a heavy bottomed pot sauté for about ten minutes, or until caramelised. Cut the leek into lengths of about five centimetres by five millimetres, and add the leek and garlic to the pot. Saute, add the rice, sage, thyme and nutmeg. Stir the onion mixture through the rice until covered, then add a cup of stock. Continue stirring the rice, allowing the stock to soak in before adding another cup.

I think fresh sage would be awesome with this, but I didn’t have any so I used ground, about a teaspoon worth. The amount used may vary.

After ten minutes, or about two cups, add the pumpkin to the rice. Continue to add the stock until the rice is soft, but with a slight resistance when bitten.