Pumpkin Risotto

Serves 4, 30 minutes preparation, 1 hour cooking

Combine the classic flavour combination of pumpkin and sage to make a delicious, creamy risotto that is guaranteed to warm you up on a cold autumn or winter evening.

Ingredients

• 1 small pumpkin or butternut squash. After peeling and scraping out the seeds, you need about 400g/14oz
• 1 tbsp olive oil, plus a drizzle for the pumpkin
• 2 garlic cloves
• 8 spring onions
• 25g butter
• 200g risotto rice
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1l hot vegetable stock, plus extra splash if needed
• 50g grated parmesan (or vegetarian alternative)
• small handful coriander, roughly chopped

Method

1. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Chop up the pumpkin or squash into 1.5cm cubes (kids- ask for help if it’s slippery). Put it on a baking tray, drizzle over some oil, then roast for 30 mins.
2. While the pumpkin is roasting, you can make the risotto. Peel and crush the garlic and slice the spring onions.
3. Heat 1 tbsp oil with the butter in your pan over a medium heat. Add the spring onions and garlic to the pan and cook until the onions are soft but not getting brown then add the rice and cumin. Stir well to coat in the buttery mix for about 1 min.
4. Now add half a cup of the stock, and stir every now and then until it has all disappeared into the rice. Carry on adding and stirring in a large splash of stock at a time, until you have used up all the stock – this will take about 20 mins.
5. Check the rice is cooked. If it isn’t, add a splash more stock, and carry on cooking for a bit longer. Once the rice is soft enough to eat, gently stir in the grated cheese, chopped coriander and roasted pumpkin then serve topped with a little more grated parmesan.