roast pumpkin and mascarpone risotto

Yesterday a beautiful friend of mine had her first baby. A little girl called… Matilda! If it’s not obvious enough, I love the name and her mum and dad and as followers of my blog, I feel it only fitting to dedicate this post to them. As vegetarian Italians, this dish should tick all boxes for them.

Once you nail the process and texture for risotto, you’re in.  Cheap Tuesday dinners, friends coming over that you can’t be bothered cooking for, nothing in your pantry. Risotto will become your kitchen go-go. The trick? Go easy on the liquid. Recipes are there to be followed. Don’t get lazy and pour all the stock in at once as your will have ruined your risotto. Take your time. A little wine for the risotto, a little wine for you. Trust me on this one… cooking just got a whole lot better.

Roast pumpkin & mascarpone risotto
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 brown onion, finely chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1kg butternut pumpkin, peeled and chopped into little cubes
Olive oil
2 cups aborio rice
1 cup white wine
3 cups chicken stock
3tbs mascarpone
1/2 cup chopped parsley
Parmesan to serve

Method
Pre heat your oven to 180.

Place your pumpkin on an oven tray and drizzle each piece with a little olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes until the cubes are golden and soft.

Heat 2tbs of olive oil in a large pan and saute the onion and garlic on a very low heat for 10 minutes. Stir until soft and translucent. Add the aborio rice to the pan and stir for around 2 minutes until you to hear the rice crackle almost. Now pour in the wine. On a low heat, let the alcohol cook out of the wine and once the liquid is reduced pour in one cup of chicken stock and the roast pumpkin. Mash the pumpkin into the risotto and once the stock has reduced, repeat the process until the aborio is soft.

Add the mascarpone, parsley and season to taste! Serve with a little extra parmesan on top.