Ingredients
800g Pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and diced into 1cm cubes 2 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Salt
1 Medium white onion, chopped
3 Garlic cloves
4 tbsp Olive oil
2 tbsp Fresh thyme
1 tsp Salt
300g Risotto rice
75ml Dry white wine
1 litre vegetable stock
100g Butter, cut into cubes 100g Grated parmesan cheese 100g Hazelnuts
4 tbsp Pumpkin seeds
Here’s how:
Place the diced pumpkin onto a baking tray and drizzle with a couple of tablespoons of oil.
Season with the little salt and roast in the oven for 20 minutes at 180c. The salt will help speed up the cooking process of the pumpkin as it draws out the water. Meanwhile pre heat a large shallow 4 litre pan with the olive oil.
Add the chopped onions, garlic and thyme and stir over a medium heat.
Season with a little salt to draw out the moisture from the onions.
Pour in the rice and stir together while continuing to cook for approximately 5 minutes.
It’s important to cook the rice a little before you add liquid as you want to crack the rice a little with the heat of the pan to help release the starch during the next cooking stage.
Pour the wine into the pan with the rice and boil away before adding the stock a little at a time while stirring together. The stirring will help to make for a creamy risotto as it will help release the starch.
This process of adding stock and stirring the rice should take approximately 20 minutes for the rice to cook.
Once cooked, add the butter, cheese and roasted pumpkin.
Taste the risotto and adjust the seasoning to your taste.
Finish the risotto with a scattering of roasted hazelnuts and pumpkin seeds. I also like to finish my risotto with a final drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
A good wine for this pesto recipe would be a chilled bottle of sauvignon Blanc or a Gruner Veltiner
 
Recipe by Peter Sidwell