Quick and delicious pumpkin risotto

Risotto is one of the best dinner options of all time and this simple, yet delicious, version will easily become your new favourite. With just a few easy ingredients and a method that even the grandkids could try their hand at, you will absolutely adore the end product.

Why not give it a go as a side dish alongside a main meal, or simply just serve it up on its own topped off with shaved parmesan. Yum!

Ingredients

• 1 (400g) small pumpkin – after peeling and scraping out seeds
• 1 tbsp olive oil, plus a drizzle for the pumpkin
• 2 garlic cloves
• 8 shallots
• 25g butter
• 200g risotto rice
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1L hot vegetable stock, plus extra splash if needed
• 50g grated parmesan
• small handful coriander, roughly chopped

Method

1. Heat oven to 180C. Chop up pumpkin into 1.5cm cubes. Put it on baking tray. Drizzle over some oil. Roast for 30 mins.
2. Meanwhile, put garlic in sandwich bag. Bash lightly with rolling pin until it’s crushed. Cut up shallots with scissors.
3. Heat 1 tbsp oil with butter in pan over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic. Once onions are soft but not getting brown, add rice and cumin. Stir well to coat in buttery mix for about 1 min. Add half a cup of stock. Stir occasionally until all disappeared into rice. Carry on adding and stirring in large splash of stock at a time, until all stock is used up – this will take about 20 mins.
4. Once rice is cooked, gently stir in grated cheese, chopped coriander and roasted pumpkin. Serve.