dinner:

pumpkin sage and leek risotto

Published 16th May 2017

Risotto is one of my favourite things to make and although it is time consuming, I quite enjoy the process of stirring it and it’s often a challenge making sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Although, when I’m time poor, I will make risotto in my pressure cooker, which takes 6 minutes of cooking, yes, 6 MINUTES!

 
 
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Our garden is currently full of pumpkins, we are down to 15 out of 20, so pumpkin is in most meal these days, which is fine by me as it’s delicious and SO versatile.

When making risotto, I like to make sure it is full of veggies, as one of the big downsides of risotto is it’s often difficult to keep the portion control right – 1/2 plate veggies or salad, 1/4 plate protein and 1/4 plate carbohydrates. So, if you have more veggies in your risotto, you can have more of the risotto as the veggies help to ‘dilute’ the portion of carbs. Or, if you choose not to fill it with veggies then keep the risotto portion to ~ 1-1.5 cups and have a side salad as well.

If you are making risotto for adults and kids and want to have your dish hot and the kids’ less hot, try adding some frozen peas to the kids bowls when dishing up. It not only adds some extra veggies to their bowl, it also cools down the risotto while cooking the peas! Genius!

Enjoy xx.

 
 
 
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Ingredients:

Serves 4

  • 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

  • 2 -3 cups butternut pumpkin, diced into 1-2cm cubes

  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed

  • 2 leeks, white part, sliced

  • 2 cups broccoli, cut into small florets (optional)

  • 1/2 cup sage leaves

  • 1 cup arborio rice

  • 1/2 cup white wine – Sauvignon blanc or chardonnay

  • 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock

  • Zest of 1/2 a lemon

  • Juice of 1/2 a lemon

  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

  • 1 tbs pinenuts

  • 1 tbs butter

  • salt and pepper to taste

 

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 200°C and line tray with baking paper.

  2. Place butternut pumpkin into a bowl and drizzle with olive oil and mix gently to coat. Place in oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

  3. Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat.

  4. Add leek and 1/4 cup of sage leaves, finely chopped, and cook, stirring until translucent.

  5. Add garlic, lemon zest and arborio rice and stir for 2-3 minutes.

  6. Add white wine and cook, stirring for 1-2 minutes.

  7. Add roasted pumpkin and stock, one cup at a time, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. When the stock is almost absorbed, add the next cup.

  8. Continue this process until the rice is cooked to taste, using more stock if needed.

  9. When down to the last cup of stock, add the broccoli.

  10. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt butter and add remaining sage leaves and cook until butter starts to brown. The sage leaves should be crispy – remove from heat.

  11. In a small frypan, add pine nuts and cook over medium heat, stirring for 1-2 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from heat.

  12. Once rice is cooked, turn off the heat and stir through lemon juice, parmesan and salt and pepper.

  13. Serve ~ 1.5 cups per person and top with pine nuts and crispy sage.