Pumpkin and Roasted Chestnut Risotto

ZUCCA

Pumpkin is one the foods typical of Ferrarese cooking and they use it for everything...their most typical dish is capellacci di zucca which is similar to a ravoli stuffed with pumpkin and it is completely delicious and irresistible. They even make pumpkin ice cream which is surprisingly yummy but a little bit sickly after a whole cone/cup of it. 

One of the yummiest combinations I have had recently was pumpkin and roasted chestnuts in my risotto...it goes ridiculously well and the halved/quartered/crumbled chestnuts with the mushy pumpkin gives a great texture...

Ingredients:

chunk o pumpkin

4 cloves of garlic

big handful of chestnuts (different to conkers as I later found out after thinking that I had been eating roasted conkers every christmas in front of the fire!)

risotto rice

wight onion

stick of celery

 wine/vermouth

about a litre of veg stock

couple of sage leaves

couple of sprigs of rosemary

parmesan

Chop up your pumpkin into inch like chunks, leave on skin as it softens and is a really nice texture in the risotto. Put into baking tray with garlic still in skin, generous pinch of salt, pepper and a few glugs of olive oil. Roast for about 20 mins at a good high heat.

While the pumpkin is roasting away, heat olive oil in big pan over mid-ish heat. Add finely chopped onions and celery and let them soften. Add a couple of handfuls of rice and keep stirring it until it turns slightly translucent (about a minute) then chuck in a big glass of wine/vermouth and keep stirring so that the rice doesn't catch and stick to the bottom of the pan. Let the booze boil off before adding the first ladle-full of stock. Keep stirring and when the rice absorbs the liquid add ladle after ladle of stock to repeat the absortioningness. 

Whilst stirrin' away, pierce each chestnut with a sharp knife before chucking them into a hot pan. Keep shakin' them for about 5 minutes over a good heat and then take off and peel.

Before adding the last smidge of stock, smush in the scrummy roasted pumpkin and garlic, add your erbs and chestnuts, followed by the last ladle of stock and a bit of salt and pepper. 

Finish off with a load of parmesan. Yum.

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