Risotto with pumpkin

It is now really autumn, the leafs are changing color, the sun, when is there, has a special light. It’s time for “gezellig thuis” like the Dutch say (cozy at home). And of course pumpkin, you can make it in many different ways. Yesterday I tried for the first time in a risotto, it was so good, melting in your mouth. A lot of vitamins in one go!

The ingredients that you need are: pumpkin (I used only half, depends on how many people you are), shallots, garlic, vegetable broth (bouillon), parsley, basil, risotto rice, grated parmesan, grated zest of a lemon or an orange  and a bit of salt. The vegetable bouillon I had made a few days ago, you can read earlier in September how to make and I had freeze some without salt, that’s why you need to add some salt. If you use broth from cubes you don’t need to add salt, it is already there.

In a pan heat some olive oil and bake the shallots and garlic until golden. Then add the risotto, mix well and slowly add bouillon, one spoon or two at the time, wait until all bouillon is taken to add the next spoon. When the rice is a bit soft, but not too soft, add the pumpkin, some more bouillon and let it cook for about 10 minutes or until the pumpkin is ready.  To give the final taste, mix with the parsley, basil, grated zest of lemon or orange and grated parmesan.

You can make a lot of combinations all depending in what taste you prefer. The original recipe had chicken bouillon, but I wanted to make a full vegetarian meal. I used the zest of a lemon, but you can have a orange or lime, that will give just a bit of different taste. Before you start adding the first bouillon you could add one glass of white wine. That’s the great of a risotto, endless combination.