Risotto with Roast Pumpkin & Pecans

- Serves 4

Sweet and creamy roast pumpkin risotto with crunchy, toasted pecans is probably is the most ideal way to use that chunk of leftover pumpkin sitting in your refrigerator. Don't believe us... try it for yourself!

Ingredients for Risotto with Roast Pumpkin & Pecans

600g sweet Japanese pumpkin
Extra-virgin olive oil
salt
black pepper
6-8 sage leaves
40g pecans
1/3 medium golden onion, finely chopped
1/3 medium carrot, finely chopped
1/3 stalk celery, finely chopped
200g rustic Carnaroli rice
125ml white wine
1.5L stock (homemade or using stock
cubes), simmering hot
40g aged parmesan, finely grated
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil or
butter, for creaming

Recipe

Start by cutting the pumpkin into 1cm wide cubes.
To roast pumpkin, pre-heat your oven to 200ºC. Place the cubed pumpkin on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle salt and pepper all over along with 3-4 leaves of chopped sage and a good drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Toss to coat, then roast for 30-40 minutes until soft and lightly caramelised along the edges. Set aside half the baked pumpkin cubes. Mash the other half well using a fork - set aside.
Place pecans on a baking tray and roast at 180ºC for 6-8 minutes until fragrant. Let pecans cool slightly, then roughly chop and set aside for later.
Chop the onion, carrot and celery very finely, and put them in a saucepan with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.
Sauté for a few minutes over medium heat, until the vegetables are translucent, adding a little stock if necessary to avoid browning. Add the rice – stir well and toast for a few minutes until the rice grains pick up a light golden hue; this will ensure a nice bite to your grains later.
Deglaze with white wine - when the wine dries out, start the classic cooking method by adding 1-2 ladles of stock. Reduce heat to low, start cooking the rice by adding hot broth, 1-2 ladleful at a time, without immersing it completely. In this first step, it is very important not to overdo the amount of broth to preserve the structure of the grain, cooking it without boiling it. Continue to cook until the rice is al-dente
or the texture is to your liking. Add mashed roast pumpkin - stir well to blend. Finally add cubed pumpkin and stir it in gently.
Creaming: Toward the last 2 minutes of cooking, add a ladleful of stock followed by sage (which you can remove later), grated Parmesan cheese, freshly cracked black pepper and salt if needed. Finally, add a tablespoon of quality extravirgin olive oil or a tablespoon of butter - stir. Serve immediately with a light drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and chopped toasted pecans.