BUTTERNUT SQUASH RISOTTO WITH PRAWNS
 
 
Author:
Recipe type: Appetizer, light meal
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 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
Instructions
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. When the time is up add the puree and the prawns and cook for a further 5 mins adding more stock as needed.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. Serve immediately and enjoy with freshly ground black pepper.
Notes
If you've noticed I didn't use any parmesan cheese as it is an unspoken rule that Italians don't add parmesan to dishes with sea food in it (there can be some exceptions) Reason being that parmesan is a strong cheese and it will overpower the delicate taste of the sea food.

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.
Recipe by HatiBon English at https://www.hatibon.com/blog/2015/12/pumpkin-risotto-with-prawns/