Pumpkin Risotto Recipe

Pumpkins are a very seasonal vegetable here in the UK. Try getting one either side of Halloween, and you’ll struggle. So I asked my dad to grow me some on his allotment. Our pumpkins came to fruition in mid-summer, so we’ve been experimenting with utilising these gorgeous vegetables, so you can eat them this Halloween. This pumpkin risotto recipe is a real winner, and we’ve eaten it several times with our crop.

Pumpkin Risotto Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 tsps olive oil
1 onion
200g Arborio rice
400g pumpkin
600ml stock
110g pancetta
2 tbsps cream cheese
80g peas
Parmesan to sprinkle over

Method

Remove the pumpkin innards from the skin. Cut into bite-sized pieces. You can discard the skin.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan.

Chop the onion and add it to the pan. Cook on a low heat for a couple of minutes.

Once the onion has softened, add the chopped pancetta.

Cook the pancetta and onion for 3 – 4 minutes more, and then add the cubed pumpkin and rice.

Stir it all thoroughly before adding a small amount (about a ladle-full) of stock.

When making pumpkin risotto, as with any risotto, add just a small amount of liquid, stir through and allow the liquid to be absorbed into the rice before adding more. Using this method, it should take about 25 – 30 minutes to add all of the stock.

Just before adding the last measure of stock, add the peas and stir them through.

Just before the dish is ready to be served, stir through the cream cheese and heat through for 2 more minutes.

Season well with salt and pepper and serve.

Grate parmesan cheese on top for that extra cheesy kick and enjoy!

This pumpkin risotto recipe is going to be one of our staples for years to come, especially now that we can have pumpkins outside of the Halloween period.

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