Think of a dish; not just beautiful to look at with its vibrant colour but elegant and creamy at the same time and consists of all your favourite things… You can’t just call it “food”, you call it “magic”!
My love for all kinds of pumpkins and squashes is a documented fact :):) My favourite type is the butternut squash with it’s concentrated flavour and silky texture; just simply baked in the oven with some spices and a drizzle of olive oil is enough to make me happy. I love making soup with the leftovers, I love to roast it, puree it etc.etc. But this risotto has got to be the dish that puts the biggest smile on my face :):)
Where I live, pumpkin is very widely used for making desserts; a very delicious and popular one being the “candied pumpkin”. But in the last few years I’m seeing more and more people experimenting all kinds of savoury dishes with this beautiful and versatile vegetable and it makes me very happy. First time I had a savoury pumpkin dish was in Italy many many years ago. It was the “pumpkin ravioli” (tortelli di zucca) and it amazed me how much I enjoyed a dish both slightly sweet and savoury, I hope to be able to share a recipe for that too while pumpkins are still around.
In Italy “risotto” is consumed like pasta; meaning as a “primo”, a start to a meal, an appetiser to a main course (entree) of protein. But sometimes it could also be served as a side, in a dish called “piatto unico” , which means a “single dish” that consist of a protein served with some carbs or starch. The most famous of them all has got to be the “Osso buco”. Beautifully tender veal shanks served traditionally with “risotto alla Milanese” which usually gets confused by many of us (even by Italians) with “risotto allo zafferano” , as they are both made with saffron. The biggest difference between the two is the addition of “bone marrow” (midollo di bue) in risotto Milanese.
Risotto takes time and is not the easiest dish to master as it needs a lot of attention. You can’t leave it alone, you need to be by its side giving it your love and care from the start to the finish. So you need all your ingredients ready before you start frying those onions, like your stock boiling, your wine at room temp, and your cheese grated if using. It might take a couple of fails before you get it right but stick with it, following a few rules we can all make a very good risotto :):)
One of the most important components of a good risotto is a flavourful stock. You can use a simple vegetable stock for all types of risotto or you can make a little more effort and have a chicken or fish stock depending on how you’ll garnish your dish. Here I started with a simple vegetable stock but added the shells of the prawns I was using and believe me when I say that a handful of prawn shells makes a huge difference in taste. You can make your stock a few days before, or use the one that you have in the freezer but make sure to have it boiling hot at all times while you are making your risotto.
I first started with roasting this beautiful butternut squash with a sprinkle of grated nutmeg, some crushed chillies, fresh sage leaves, a cinnamon stick broken into pieces and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. 30 mins at 180C (350F) then another 10 mins at 200C (400F). I usually do this a day or two in advance, enjoy them as a side dish and with the leftovers I make the puree that I need for the risotto.
The measurements I’m going to share with you is enough if you want a light meal and have it on its own, as lunch or a light dinner, but will be too much if you want to have it as a “primo”. So to have as a single dish I use 90 to 100 gr rice per person, as a starter/appetizer 50 to 60 gr will be plenty.
- 190 gr rice (Arborio or Carnaroli)
- 1 white onion finely chopped
- ¾ to 1 cup butternut squash puree
- 200 gr prawns (that's the weight with the shell on,no head)
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- ½ cup dry white wine (room temp)
- 2-3 Tbsp of butter
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt, black pepper
- Heat the olive oil and a couple of Tbsp of butter, add the onions and fry on a low heat. We need to do this nice and slow as we don't want the onions to brown.
- When they have softened add the rice & turn the heat up. Keep stirring for 2-3 mins, when the rice starts to get translucent add the wine & cook for a further 2 mins. By which time the alcohol will have evaporated and most of the liquid will be absorbed.
- Add a ladleful of the hot stock, set your timer to 13 mins and never stop stirring. Continue like this adding 1 ladleful of stock at a time only after the previous one is absorbed. Stirring continuously is important to help release the starch from the rice.
- When the time is up add the puree and the prawns and cook for a further 5 mins adding more stock as needed.
- Check to see if the rice and the prawns are cooked, don't overcook them as there are still a few minutes to wait before we can eat the risotto. Check for seasoning.
- Turn the heat off, add a tbsp of butter, stir well, put the lid on and let sit for 2 minutes. This is important as resting your risotto will ensure in a very creamy and yummy result.
- Serve immediately and enjoy with freshly ground black pepper.
You could easily make this dish without the prawns and add as much parmesan as you like:):)
You might not need to use all your stock as not all rice behave the same. Some rice absorbs more liquid than others but it's always best to have plenty. If you finish the stock too early you can use a splash or two of water but no more than that because you wouldn't want to dilute the beautiful flavour of your dish.