Apologies for the gap between posts…what can I say? This has been the House of Neverending Illness, so concocting gourmet creations hasn’t been at the top of my priority list…but the sniffles have at last abated and I’m back!
Today’s recipe is a delicious vegetarian risotto, adapted from a recipe from Delicious magazine (my all time fave food mag) circa 2006. If you want to indulge your inner carnivore, a tip for adding some porky goodness is at the end…
Serves 6: 340 calories per serve
INGREDIENTS
20g unsalted butter
1 large leek (white part only), finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
500g pumpkin, peeled, diced into 1cm pieces
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tbs chopped thyme leaves
100ml dry white wine
900ml chicken or vegetable stock
250g arborio rice
1/2 cup (60g) frozen peas
100g soft goat’s cheese, crumbled
6 slices pancetta (optional), to serve
PROCESS
Preheat oven to 180oC. Place pumpkin in a non-stick baking tray, spray lightly with olive oil and toss to coat. Roast for 20 minutes or until tender.
Meanwhile, bring stock to the boil in a pan. Reduce heat to very low and simmer.
While the stock is heating, melt butter in a deep frypan over low heat. Cook leek for 2-3 minutes until softened. Add garlic, half the zest and half the thyme, then stir to coat.
Add the rice and cook for 1-2 minutes to coat the grains. Add the wine and then the stock, 1 ladleful at a time, allowing each to be absorbed before adding the next. Continue, stirring constantly, until stock is absorbed and rice is cooked but firm to the bite. Season to taste.
Stir in peas, half the cheese and the roasted pumpkin. Serve topped with the remaining zest, thyme, cheese and rocket.
TIP
If you have calories to spare, serve with some crispy pancetta. Simply place pancetta under a hot grill until crispy and serve atop the risotto, either as a whole piece, or crumbled.
Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum!!! I don’t care that Simon doesn’t love pumpkin….I must make this to eat asap!